The Spirit of a Ninja
by shadowtiger23
Summary: When Hao destroys Kasai's guardian ghost, Kasai must find a new one before the second round of the shaman tournament begins. In the end, with Yoh and Anna, he recruits the most powerful warrior that ever existed. Crossover starts at Ch. 10
1. Beginnings

1Shaman King is the property of Hiroyuki Takei.

All characters in the first chapter are my own creation.

This story begins just after the plane disappears and the shaman are supposed to find Dobie Village. I may mix techniques, attacks and other items in both English and Japanese. Also my story is based on the anime, not the manga.

Ch. 1

"Well this is just great," Zach yelled out. "We're thousands of miles in the middle of nowhere, without any idea which direction to go for the next round of the shaman tournament. Don't you think the council would be kind to give us A FREAKIN' MAP!!"

My best friend then proceeded to continue to pace around the boulder I was sitting on, wearing a path into the dirt and sand.

"That is not the point. We're suppose to find Dobie Village by our own will with no help from the council," Maria, Zach's twin sister, pointed out. She was sitting on the ground against my boulder, trying to get the knot out of her whip.

The air around Zach shimmered and his guardian ghost appeared behind him, following in his footsteps.

"Listen partner, you just need to calm down for a moment. The railroads in the plains weren't built in a day, you know."

A voice hissed from around Maria's shoulders. "He'sss right. Sssettle down and think."

I sighed, twirling my knife in my hands. Zach was always the one in a hurry when it came to getting things done. He never takes a minute to think of plan on what to do. He jumps into the fire, so to speak. He doesn't put it out. How he won his shaman fights I will never know.

Maria was a strategist. She always has a plan. Without her, me and Zach would have been killed several times during the preliminaries by stray shaman who didn't pass and were looking for some sucker's oracle bell.

But regardless, I'm very happy that they are both here. It's hard growing up without anyone to help protect. In fact, growing in an orphanage in Okinawa would be hard on anyone.

**

* * *

**

FLASHBACK

My life actually started in America. I was born on October 10, 1989 under the name Jacob Sawyer. My birthplace was Tulsa, Oklahoma.

My father was Henry Sawyer, a archeologist who lived in Tulsa. He spent a majority of his life studying the history of the mound-builders who lived here nearly fifty-thousand years ago. His favorites were the witch doctors who proceeded to bury the dead with their strange rituals. He loved his work because he was Cherokee and loved to study Native Americans.

He didn't meet my mom until he was asked to give a lecture at Tulsa University on the mound-builders. She was a senior there, about to graduate with same degree as him. She fell in love with him when he invited her on one of his expeditions. They married six months after they met.

Oh, my mom was Okanami Hitomi. She was a Japanese transfer student who was interested in the Native American culture.

I was born about year after they were married. Since my dad was the only one his family, my mom wanted to show her new family to her old one in Japan. My dad agreed and we flew out a week after I was born. My dad was excited to meet his new in-laws and mom was happy to return home.

The night we arrived in Tokyo after checking into a hotel, there was a terrible fire that burned the building down. Neither one of my parents survived, nor did any of the other guests. Somehow, I was able to. The firefighters and the city officials were confused and shocked that I was untouched by the inferno.

The police identified all of the bodies and found my mom's family. They brought me to them with the intention of them adopting me. But the Okanami family was angry at my mom for moving away and marrying an American without their permission. They already chosen her betrothed and they disowned her when she refused to marry him. She fled to America when they did. Her family wanted nothing to do with me.

They contacted the American officials to see if my dad had any family that could take me but didn't find anyone. Furthermore, the American officials couldn't find my birth certificates or any other documents. They seemed to just disappear. I couldn't legally enter the United States until I became an adult.

So the Japanese government did the next best thing. They placed me in one of the best orphanages in the country. But with the publicity of the fire, I was actually offered a home from many people who wanted to adopt the famous 'Fire Child'. But the Japanese government thought that this might cause up upcry back the United States, saying the baby belonged back where he was born.

So they placed me in the Naha City Orphanage in the Okinawan Islands. My name was changed to Sawyer Kasai. I spent the next years growing up with the other orphans. I was never mistreated there; in fact, I was interviewed by the city officials once a week to see if I was being uncared for.

But I was labeled by the other orphans and workers as an outcast. For some reason, during my early years at the orphanage, I was able to speak perfect English along with Japanese, despite never being taught English. I could read and write both English and Kanji. This scared the children and workers, thinking I was some kind of freak.

Not only that, I kept complaining to my care givers that I kept hearing voices. I would be playing with my blocks in my corner of the room and someone would whisper in my ear. A child's voice. I would look around but the rest of children would be in the other corners, avoiding me. No one would believe me and made me look even worse than usual.

This continued for the next few years, until my eight birthday. By this time, I ignored the voice and didn't talk to anybody about it. But after the small birthday cake the orphanage gave me and my present, one set of new clothes, the voice became stronger. Also, objects around me began to move on their own.

I tried to ignore these things, but the kept getting worse. Eventually, windows were broken and objects kept flying towards the other kids, injuring them slightly. I got blamed for the mishaps and was punished by spending recess alone on my bed in a room where the other orphans slept. It was then and there that I realized what was happening.

A ghost was causing all of those incidents.

It happened the first day of my punishment. I was trying to read when my book went flying across the room. I yelled out but there was nobody in the room. It was then I saw the ghostly image of a young girl materializing out of nowhere and hover in front of me . I screamed for my care givers and they rushed into the room. I pointed towards the girl as she smirked and continued to hover, then disappeared. The caretakers told there was nothing there and added another week to my punishment for making up such lies.

Later that night, the girl appeared again, pushing me awake. I woke up and started to scream again when she put her and over my mouth and silenced me. This shocked me. When the kids told ghost stories, they always said that ghost could pass through objects and couldn't possible harm people physically, yet this girl could touch me.

She motioned for me to follow her. She led me through the hallways and onto the playground, where she sat on the swing. I finally got over my shock and realized that the girl was about the same age as me, wearing the standard dresses that all girls were supposed to wear. She was slightly pale and looked, well, ghostly. I could see everything except her legs. They seemed to disappear as they got lower to her feet.

She told me her name was Hana and she died at the orphanage when she got pneumonia a few days before I arrived as a baby. For some reason, her spirit wouldn't return to Heaven and she didn't know how to reach it. Over the years, she tried yelling out for help, but know one could hear her. One day she saw me in the corner one day and asked me for help. When she saw me look around, she knew I had heard her.

She became stronger over the years. She told me that being around me made her grow stronger until a point she could move objects and take a form. Now, she wanted me to help her pass on. She also wanted to be my friend after she saw how alone I was.

She gave me my greatest birthday gift of all. Friendship.

After that night, I began to look into the library for books about ghosts and the afterlife. I spent hours looking up information that would help Hana while she looked over my shoulder, reading along with me. However, this only increased my reputation as a freak. Especially with the way it seemed that I was talking to myself instead with Hana.

The workers at the orphanage grew concerned with my behavior and called a psychiatrist. He asked several questions about my health, if I was talking to myself because of bullies, if fell out of the bed on night on my head; the usual crap. Hana suggested that I shouldn't tell anybody of my ability to talk to a spirit so I just kept my mouth shut.

However, the other kids thought I was just using this ploy to crave attention. They would then push me over, ruin my art projects, pour water in my bed, and called me names like 'freak' and 'devil boy'. This continued on for years.

Hana thought this treatment was horrible so she took things into her own hands sometimes. She would throw more items at the kids, levitate their beds while they were sleeping, and make howling noises when the kids were alone. I know she meant well and I appreciated it, but she only seemed to make things worse. I never told her that, though.

Years of researching and I wasn't any closer to finding a way to return Hana to the afterlife. But she didn't seem to mind the wait. She told me she really enjoyed spending time with me. She even followed me to school when I was old enough to go to a public school. She would help me with my tests and would quiz me.

But my reputation as a freak followed me to school, as some of the orphans came to the same school as me. The rumors they spreaded about caught both students and teachers, causing pretty much everyone on campus to be wary of me.

It hurt, but I was pretty much used to it by now. As long as Hana was there with me, I thought life wasn't so bad.

That is until my twelfth birthday.

After school, I decided to take a detour back to the orphanage and stop a new ramen shop that Hana told me all the other kids were talking about. I agreed and took the route. By some weird coincidence, there was a cemetery next to street we were on.

I was talking to her when I realized she wasn't floating next to me anymore. She stopped a few meters back, staring intently at the gravestones. She didn't say anything as she floated through the bars and began to float towards the hill. I tried to call her back but she wouldn't listen to me. I ran around the fenced towards the gate, hoping over the 'closed' bar and towards the top of the hill.

Hana was just floating near a headstone, saying nothing. But I thought I heard sniffling and saw a single tear fall down her cheek. I looked down at what she was looking at and saw what drove her here.

The stone read:

**Haijaiki Hana**

I didn't know what to say. All this time, she told me she didn't know where she was buried. She didn't bother to leave the orphanage to see where the workers took her body. She didn't even know that she was dead at first.

Her grave was bare. No offerings or flowers were on her memorial stone. I was then overcome with a sudden urge to present something, anything, on her stone.

It was winter, so all the flower shops were closed for the season. I glanced around the yard, hoping to find something to present because I was broke. Then, a few stones away, was single flower growing among the weeds: a gardenia.

I picked it carefully from the weeds and walked back towards her tombstone, picking up a stray pop bottle from the trash. I put the flower in the bottle and laid it down on her stone. Then bowed my head in respect and sent a prayer to Kami.

Suddenly, my eyes were blinded by a bright yellow light. I kept them shut for a few seconds, then squinted through to see Hana surrounded by a golden aura. She had her eyes closed. Then she opened them and smiled at me.

"Thank you, you have set my soul free," she said. "All I needed was to be remembered. Now, I will see you again when you pass." Her light was brighter as it began to ascend into the sky. Before it was gone, I heard a voice whisper _Good-bye_ and then blacked out.

I woke several hours later. It was dark and for a few moments. I thought I fell asleep, then I remembered. Hana was gone. I thought it would be great when she ascended to Heaven, that her soul would finally be a peace.

But now, I was more alone than ever before. I hugged my knees and began to cry.

It was hours before I moved. By the time I got back to the orphanage, they already locked the gate. I was stuck outside for the night. I didn't have a back-up plan so I just aimlessly wandered over the city, lost in my misery.

I didn't know what to do. I've lost my friend, never to see her again until I passed on unto the next world. It was like there was a giant hole in my chest. And with every breathe I took, the hole just seemed to get bigger

Then my situation got worse. It began to rain. The winter season was brutal this time of year. When it rained, it was almost Freezing rain. But I didn't notice my skin being chilled to the bone through my school uniform, or the cough the seemed to develop after a few minutes.

Or the fact that I literally walked into someone as they were closing up their store and I ended up on my butt.

"Hey, watch were you're going, _gak_i!" a voice rang out. It sounded like an old man.

I didn't bother to answer as I sat in my puddle. I just stared the man I bumped into. He was dressed in an old, graying business suit that just didn't seem to match his face. His face looked an ancient warrior, one whose pictures are in my history books. His hair was white and came to his shoulders. Their were a few wrinkles on his face, but not enough to make him look like he was dying. His eyes were this deep shade of gray, almost black.. I stared, confused

Despite his gruff attitude, I could see a small hint of concern for my situation.

"Hey, _gaki_, are you alright?" he asked.

I stood up and bowed for my accident. "I'm sorry, sir. I was just...distracted."

"What are you doing out here? You could freeze to death. Aren't your parents worried about you?" I saw him cringe when I shook my head.

"My parents are dead, sir. I live in the orphanage, but I was locked out tonight."

"Well that was stupid of you, _baka,_" he scolded. He then sighed and opened his door. "Come on in. I was just getting my sign out of the rain."

I hesitated. I heard of all the stories of kidnappers taking children off the street and leaving their bodies in alleyways for the stray cats to eat. There were those horror stories the caretakers told us so we wouldn't linger in the streets when it was time to close.

The man sensed my hesitation. He looked at me and slightly smiled.

"Don't worry. My wife would be happy to have you over tonight."

My hesitation turned to eagerness as I walked into the shop. Surely I wouldn't be harmed if I was staying with a elderly couple instead of one creepy man. Besides, with the way it was raining, I think I would take my chances inside.

As I walked in, I noticed the sign on the window read, "_Sofubo's_ Antiques"

The room was sparsely lighted by only a few candles in the back room. From what I could see, the dark room was filled with old furniture, a variety of vases and other furnishings, old kimonos dating back several decades and literally hundreds of books lining along the walls.

The old man led me through the shop and into the lit room. It was a small kitchen with the basic necessities: Fridge, oven. Except their were tiny.

An old woman was at the sink washing dishes. She was about my height, with graying hair, and a thin body. She was wearing a traditional white kimono, although I don't know why because there were no holidays or any other special occasions that I could think of.

"_Hime_, we've got company," said the old man.

_Princess_? I thought.

The woman turned around. She had green eyes that seemed to shine like emeralds and this warm face that immediately made me smile.

"Oh hello. My name is Kubai. _Irasshaimase_,(Welcome to our shop)" she said.

I bowed. "I'm Sawyer Kasai. Thank you for inviting me into your home."

The man behind me raised his eyebrow. "Your name means 'fire'?

"That's what the workers at the orphanage tell me."

The woman looked shocked. "You're an orphan?"

The man nodded. "I found the _gaki_ wondering out in the rain. He got locked out for the evening."

The woman moved forward and began to push me up the stairs across the room.

"You poor thing. You are free to stay the evening with us. We have an extra room upstairs next to ours." she pointed to a door on my left when we reached the top landing. "There are some dry robes inside in the closet. I'll go make you something to eat and bring it up." She then left me alone on the landing.

I pushed the door open. Inside, was a single bedroll on the floor with a set of clean, but dusty, gray robes. The room was bare except for a window across from me, where the storm outside was still raging. It seemed like nobody had been in here in a long time.

I changed into the dry robes and waited for Kubai and the old man. They came up a few minutes later, Kubai carrying a bowl of soup. The old man stayed in the doorway.

"I'm afraid this is all we have," she told me.

I stood up and bowed to her.

"It's ok, Kubai-san. Anything sounds great."

She waved a hand away. "There is no need to be formal. Plain Kubai will work just fine. You can even call me '_obaasan_'(grandmother) if you want to."

I smiled and began to eat. It was delicious, whatever it was. I eagerly ate the bowl withing a matter of minutes. As soon as I was done, I felt my eyelids begin to fall.

Kubai took the bowl from me. "Feel free to spend the night. We would love the company."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I don't have any money to pay you."

The man grinned. "Then get out."

Kubai rounded on him. "Shut up, you old goat." She turned back to me. "There is no charge. You eyes tell me that you have a kind heart, but one that is broken. I can tell something emotionally happened to you. Something that only time can heal."

The warmth that was building up inside me seemed to vanish when I remembered why I was here. I could almost feel tears begin to fall again.

"You don't have to talk about it now, kid," the man said. "Right now, our home is your home."

The warm feeling came back again. The way the man said it, I almost felt like the other orphans who were adopted when parents who were looking for children came by. The feeling of finally finding a home. It was like a warm embrace from someone you loved. A warmth ten times better than the soup I just finished.

I bowed once more

"Thank you."

Kubai picked up my bowl and smiled. "Your welcome. Now, you better get some rest. I'll have breakfast for you in the morning. Good night."

She then left room and went back downstairs. The old man smiled from the doorway.

"She's really happy that you're here. I haven't seen her like that in years."

I tugged at my robes. "Who did these belong to?"

The man's head went down. "A boy we adopted some time ago. He disappeared about two years ago."

"I'm sorry."

The man raised his head back up. "It's quite alright. Now...." He gave me a looked that made me feel like I was in trouble. "With a surname like 'Sawyer', it sounds like your American?"

I nodded and yawned. "Yes, my father was American."

He then began to slid the door shut. "We'll talk about it in the morning. Now, get some rest."

"Wait," I asked. "I didn't get your name."

The man smiled. "My name is Nishi. But you can call me _Jiji_(grandfather)." The door slid shut.

* * *

I smiled and put my kunai kife back into my thigh holster. I then pulled out my pendant that was given to me for fifteenth birthday. It was black medallion with the ying-yang symbol in the center. On the border line that separated the colors, was a dragon, my zodiac animal.

"Master, the twins are fighting again. Maria is trying to strangle her brother," muttered my guardian ghost.

I groaned. "How many times have a I told you **not **call me master. Call me Kasai, Jacob, Jake but not master. It makes feel superior to you. You're my friend, remember?"

My ghost just shrugged. "Whatever you say, master."

I groaned again and got up to separate the twins. How they never managed to kill each other, I will never know.

"Guys, let's just head to the nearest town." I pointed towards the road. "We'll just follow the road and see where it takes us. Maybe someone can help us there."

"Yeah, we can just ask around town if anyone knows where a tournament full of ghost-wielding freaks is being held," Zach joked.

"Can't you have a positive attitude about anything?" Maria asked, smacking her brother on the head.

I just sighed and picked up my backpack. It was going to be a long trip to get to the next round of the Shaman tournament.

But it was one step closer to my dream.

* * *

I promise to have more information about the characters and their guardian ghosts in the next chapter. I just wanted to give readers background information of the main character.

Please watch out for updates. There will be more to come.


	2. My friends and discoveries

1Ch. 2

After a full day of walking in the hot sun, we finally found a small town to rest and form a plan. We found out that we were in New Mexico, just a few miles away from the Arizona border. But this still didn't give us any clues where to go next.

We got a room for the night in a tiny, rundown hotel. The twins went to go train in the woods in the outskirts of town while I took a nap in the room we were sharing. I lost a coin toss so I was sleeping on the floor tonight so I wanted to sleep on a bed at least once while everyone was away.

But my naps don't last long. I just spend my time watching the ceiling. For the past year, sleep has been harder to come by. Every time I close my eyes, flames fill my vision. The heat feels so real that I always wake up covered in sweat.

After a few hours of no sleep, I got up and put my knife back in my hip holster. I then grabbed the memorial tablet my ghost was currently occupying and left the room.

When you're a shaman, all of your senses are nearly tripled compared to normal humans. And when you have a sixth, shamanic sense, it's really easy to find other shamans or other powerful beings. You just concentrate on what your looking for and your furyoku, or mana, will take care of the rest.

I closed my eyes and let my senses scan the area in the forest. I could 'see' and 'hear' two powerful forces clash over and over again. I smirked, knowing that my friends always went as far as they could when they sparred against each other. They liked to impress and surge their furyoku when they battled so it's easy to find them. After ten minutes of climbing over boulders and crawling through the underbrush in the wilderness behind the motel, I found my friends.

Right now, they were about to form their individual Over Souls with their mediums and spirits. Zach, with his guardian ghost, Wyatt, and Maria, along with her animal spirit, Kaa. Zach held a gun in his left hand and held out his right hand.

"Wyatt, spirit form," Zach yelled out. Wyatt's form changed into his spirit ball form in Zach's hand. "Now, into the pistol!"

Wyatt's spirit was intergrated into Zach's six-shooter. The gun was then emblazed with a navy-blue aura and then completely transformed. It now resembled an old-fashioned cannon mounted on his arm and packed more power than a tank. But for him, I knew it was lighter than a feather. They way he wielded it, it looked like a child holding a foam bat.

"**Cannonball Blast**," Zach yelled aiming the cannon towards a boulder in the center of the clearing. It was about the size of a minivan The recoil of the blast made him back up a couple of feet.

A blue cannon ball shot out of the chamber. Despite the power, the ball was wearing a cowboy hat, a pair of eyes and a frown. It looked quite funny.

Their was a flash of white light and a resounding boom as the boulder was obliterated into pebbles and sand. The only sign that was left was a crater with a twenty-foot perimeter.

"Oh, yeah! That's how you do it, sis," he gloated. His cannon reverted back to his six-shooter. He placed it back into his holster as Wyatt reappeared next to him.

Despite being 15, like me and Maria, he stood at six foot even. His intimidating size scared the daylights of his first round opponents. He was pretty much built like a pro wrestler, you know muscles over muscles. His face was chiseled and thin, with a long scar over his left eye.

But despite his menacing appearance, he was actually kind-hearted and goofy. Even to a point where it got annoying sometimes.

His guardian ghost was actually Wyatt Earp, the legendary cowboy. After his death, Wyatt traveled all over the west seeking evil spirits that liked to cause the living trouble. Wyatt and Zach met in a ghost town in the Texas panhandle. Wyatt was interested in the way Zach handled spirits as a young kid. Ever since then, they've teamed up to find troubled spirits and help them with their problems.

Their medium is an antique six-shooter Zach bought when he and Wyatt were in Nevada on a family trip. They found it in an old pawn shop. The owner gave them a cheap price for it since the bullets for it were not longer made.

Zach's dream is to bring peace to both spirits and mortals.

"It's your turn, sis," Zach said as he walked towards the tree line.

Maria untied her leather whip from her belt. She grabbed the handle and with a twist her wrist, the full twelve-length whip unfurled with a crack.

"Kaa, spirit form," she called out, holding out her palm. Her animal spirit, an Indian Python, changed into it's spirit ball into Maria's hand.

"Merge with the whip!" she called out, pressing Kaa's spirit and whip together. An pink aura surrounded the transformed weapon. The whip remained the same, but now had a small blade shaped like a fang attached at the end, sharp enough to cut through steel without any effort. The handle was covered with pink snake skin. The bottom of the handle had a serpent's head with it's fangs bared.

She walked towards a tree that had dying branches. Her whip seemed to float and move in slow motion as it waved like a snake through the air.

"**Twister Snap**," she called out, thrusting her whip around the tree. In a pink flash, all of the branches were shaved off the trunk. The blade cut cleanly through the wood, never stopping on impact. In less than a second, all of the branches were firewood and the trunk was bare.

Maria recalled her whip and Kaa withdrew himself from the whip. He took his position around Maria's shoulders instead of returning to his tablet.

"Well done, asss usssual," Kaa hissed. It kind of creeped me out when he talked.

"And that's how big sister does," Maria gloated while tying her whip back to her belt.

"We're twins," he pointed out.

"I was born first."

I smiled. No matter how many times they started to fight, it never got old.

Maria was not as big as her brother was, but she was just as strong as him. She was about 5 and a half feet tall and all of her muscles were toned to perfection. She had the athletic body of a cheerleader and curves in all the right places. She's every guy's dream girl. When I first met her, my face heated up so fast that Zach asked me if I was running a fever. She knew why I was blushing and teased me about it from time to time.

But she was a loyal friend and I wouldn't change it any other way.

Her guardian spirit was Kaa, the boa constrictor I read about in _The Jungle Book_. You think after watching the Disney movie that the guy would be evil, but once you got to know him, he was pretty social. When he passed on, he wanted to protect the forest he had grown to love. He heard whispers from other animal spirits that the world is in danger. The rainforests and jungles were being destroyed little by little.

Maria met Kaa when she went with her grandparents to India for the American Red Cross. Kaa felt a small shamanic sense coming from them and hitched a ride in their suitcases back to America. When he arrived in Texas, he sought out for her. He saw Maria's potential and asked for help stop the deforestation in the world. Ironically, her dream was the same.

Looking at Maria and Zach, you could tell they were twins. They both had brown eyes, the same mouth, ears, and eyebrows. Maria's hair was brown, like her mother's, curly and went down to the middle of her back. Zach's hair was black, like his father's, and tied into a small ponytail. They once showed me a picture of the entire family so I knew what their parents looked like

They grew up on a ranch in Texas and liked to play the cowboy theme. Zach was wearing a black stetson with two red-tailed hawk feathers around the band. He had a black leather vest with small tassels in the front pockets underneath a white shirt and a pair of blue jeans ending in his rattlesnake-skinned boots.

Maria was wearing a straw hat and white buffalo-skinned vest underneath a red blouse. She was also wearing a brown skirt that went down to her knees ending with black cowgirl boots with spurs.

They harnessed their shaman powers when they both were seven. A Native American medicine man recognized their potential when he saw them talking to the spirits in graveyard. He taught them about spirit unity, furyoku, and the upcoming shaman tournament taking place in Tokyo. He actually paid for their plane tickets when they got permission from their parents to participate.

"Well, Well, look who woke up," Zach yelled from across the clearing.

"Come on, show us what you got, oh mighty ninja warrior," Maria joked.

I grinned and leaped towards them in two bounds. Including super senses, a shaman's strength is increased nearly tenfold. This gives the ability to jump high to avoid attacks and enough speed to dodge them.

"All right then, nyuuyouji(babies). Let me show you two a real shaman warrior," I said.

They smiled and stood behind me as I took my knife from its holster. This was a gift from my sofubo's store. It was a kunai knife, one of the weapons used by a ninja in the ancient times. It was about nine inches long, five of it being the handle wrapped in tape. Four inches was the blade, but only the last inch of it was sharp. The rest of blade was chipped.

"Ready?" I asked to my right.

My guardian ghost appeared next me. Dressed in black battle _gi_ with a red spider stitched onto the back. He had a black headband tied around his dark blue hair. He also had battle scars over his face and arms.

His name was Niiro Kumo (Red Spider)

"Ready, master," he said.

I sighed. He wasn't going to change his formalities..

"All right. Kumo, spirit form," I said. His body shifted and shrunk until he was a spirit ball. The red ball had two angry eyes, a scowl, and a headband.

"Integrate with the kunai." I pushed his spirit into kunai, using my furyoku to merge the spirit and medium together.

After a flash of bright light, the knife transformed into a katana, the red blade being four feet long. The flat side of the blade was serrated with wave-like designs. The guard was decorated with eight, spider legs. The aura around it glowed red as my furyoku was pumped into the medium. In the aura, you could almost see eight eyes staring in all directions around me.

I turned to my friends. "You two might want to duck."

Zach and Maria groaned as the sat down and watched. I closed my eyes and focused on sending the right amount of mana into my sword. Too much and I would pretty much destroy the entire forest. Probably kill me and my friends as well.

"**Kumo Kiritateru** (Spider Slash)." I spun three-hundred and sixty degrees around, releasing the mana I built up in the sword. When I opened my eyes, I saw the trees in the inside of the clearing laying on their sides now. They were dead trees, so Kaa and Maria didn't have any problems with me chopping them down.

I released my furyoku and my sword changed back into a kunai. Kumo reappeared next to me and looked at the damage with satifaction.

"Well done," he said.

Niiro Kumo was renowned across Japan as a world-class assassin. When a important person was killed with no witnesses, you could guarantee it was Kumo. He could kill his target and disappear without a trace. It was rumored that he could craw over the walls, stick to ceilings, and could blend into the darkness.

Hence the name Spider.

He didn't exactly have a ruthless streak or any malice, but I wouldn't call him a good citizen, or ghost. He spent his afterlife haunting soldiers, saying they were cowards for letting enemies go and veterans for quitting the army.

He didn't get along me all the time either.

"Not bad. But I still can't see how you could have beaten me in our second fight of the preliminaries," Zach said. He crossed his arms smirked down at me.

Maria scoffed. "He beat you because he has talent and courage. While you just have a rock for a brain and believe power is the only way to fight."

"Hey, I made it to the second round of the tournament, didn't I?"

"Only because your opponent tripped over a rock in your third shaman fight."

_There they go._

I sat down and listened to them argue....again. Kumo returned to his tablet and Kaa and

Wyatt floated next to me.

"Remind me why you two picked those two as your shamans?"

"I don't remember," Wyatt told me.

"Ssssometimesss I wonder, too," Kaa told me.

I sighed and turned back to the fight. They changed their tactics from name calling to poking each other. Then proceeded to pushing and finally a full-out brawl. This lasted for a couple of hours until it was sundown. I've learned not get involved with their fights. First time I tried to stop them, I ended up knocked out for the rest of the day. When they were done, they both ended up with black-eyes and cut lips.

"Sibling squabble over?" I asked.

"Shut up," they both said.

We made our way back into town and ate at the only restaurant the small city had. But it was good. It pretty much served anything you wanted, as long as you paid by singing karoke in the bar. Maria was on-stage, singing a few Shania Twain songs while Zach pigged out on the barbecue. Wyatt was integrated with him because he liked to try and remember what food tasted like.

The townspeople loved us. The restaurant was the nightly hangout so a lot of people were there that night. They whooped and hollered and even threw money as thanks on stage when Maria sang. They cried and begged for it to stop when Zach was up there though.

It was a night where we could forget about the tournament and our troubles, even for just a moment.

We went back to the hotel around midnight, after we collected about two hundred dollars in tips. Maria gave me enough to get my own single room.

I put my bag in the corner and went into the bathroom to take a shower. My image stared back at me in the mirror. My brown hair stuck up in spikes all around my head, my bangs being supported by my red headband For some odd reason, my black hair had brown streaks in the tips. It was natural, yet I couldn't explain how.

I was wearing a long-sleeved, navy shirt underneath a black, short-sleeved button shirt with the buttons undone. A red spider design was sewed onto the back of my shirt. I was also wearing black cargo pants with a couple of big pockets on the sides for my memorial tablet and other tools. Black combat boots covered my feet and red, fingerless gloves covered my hands.

Including my tablet and kunai, I also kept few shuriken stars and other kunai knives in my pockets. Kumo advised me to keep extra weapons in case I ran out of furyoku. I never had moment when I had to use them, but I kept them sharp and practiced with them whenever I could. My aim with shuriken was 99 percent and was and had expert knife skills with a kunai.

I sighed. It had been a long day. I took my shower, enjoying the water as it washed away the dirt and weariness of a full day of traveling. And enjoying it for it would be a long time before I could take another one. It seemed like we would be doing a lot of camping if Dobie Village was in the middle of a desert.

After I was done, I put on a pair of clean shorts and went to bed, making sure my pendant was not damaged after training today. I laid down and pressed the dragon's head in. The pendant opened up, revealing the inside. On each side of the pendant was a picture. The first one was a picture of my adopted grandparents. It was an old picture, taken ten years after they were married.

I smiled. No matter how old they got, they still looked the same. Jiji had dark hair that fell to the sides of his face. His still had they strong look, but there was a small sign of gentleness as he held his wife. Obaasan looked young and pretty. The wrinkles were gone and her hair color was a light red color, the lightest I have ever seen on anybody.

On the other side was my parents. Somehow, a picture was the only thing that survived the inferno blaze besides me. The once square picture was burnt in a perfect circle, with slight yellowing marks on the edges.

It was taken at the hospital the day after I was born. Mother was sitting up in her bed, holding me in her arms. Dad was sitting beside her on the bed, holding on to one of my hands. They were both smiling towards the camera.

"You should be resting," a voice said to my right. Kumo came out of the tablet in his spirit ball mode. His eyes never changed from their stoic look.

I held up the medallion. "I'm just going over some memories." I stared at the pictures for a few more minutes. "Do you think they're watching over me, Kumo?

The ball moved up slightly and lowered, the motion of a nod. "Yes, master. I know they are watching over you. They're protecting you every step along this journey you make. As am I."

"Thanks Kumo." I snapped the medallion shut. Then turned off the light and slid under the covers. Hopefully my exhaustion would take me quickly without any dreams of infernos.

*****************************************************************

FLASHBACK (12 YEARS-OLD)

Everyday after school, I would help out Jiji and Obaasan in their shop. I would work from 3 until 5 in the evening and would then head back to the orphanage. I spent all day there on the weekends. The caretakers never questioned where I went. As long as I wasn't causing trouble, they didn't care what I did.

Although, they were a couple of times I wanted to stay beyond curfew. Just to stay overnight at their home again was a blessing. It was like living with a real family.

I learned a lot after spending so much time with them. Jiji was a navy sailor during WWII and worked on battleship in Tokyo Bay. His ship was only a reserve so he never saw battle. He was even on a weekend vacation in Okinawa when the Americans bombed Tokyo. He never had any hard feelings towards the U.S. back then or now. He was just following orders. But it was in Okinawa on that trip where he meet Obaasan.

Obaasan was worked as a waitress in a sushi shop. It was a family owned business and she was third generation to work in the shop. The shop was a very popular spot for young couples and sailors on leave. It was there that Jiji fell in love with Obaasan.

They spent every moment together they could with the war going on. When it finally ended, Jiji moved across the bay to Okinawa and the two of them married. Both of them settled in Naha city with money from both of their parents. They lived happily together ever since.

Although, how a sushi waitress and a sailor opened up an antique shop, I'll never know.

I told them everything I could about myself. They were surprised to hear that was the famous 'Fire Child'. They assumed that I died when I disappeared from the media. However, I never told them about Hana or about my weird talents. Why scare them.

But some things cannot be kept a secret for long.

It was Saturday and all three of us were at the table eating lunch. We were all kneeling at the table while I was telling them about my week of school. It was the first month since I met them.

"Could you please pass the curry?" Jiji asked while tilting his bowl of rice into his mouth.

I nodded and reached for the bowl. But before I could touch it, the bowl rose up, floated towards Jiji and landed in front of him. Jiji lowered his bowl and grabbed the curry.

"Thanks," he said. He poured the spice into his rice bowl and stirred his rice. He never noticed the floating bowl but he did notice my wide eyes and open mouth.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

I snapped out of my daze.

"Nnoo..oo. No. Nothing's wrong. Everything is okay," I said, probably a little too fast.

Jiji just stared at me for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and turning back to his meal.

I shook my head, trying to get it together. Either I was hallucinating or my grandparents had a ghost for a waiter. I recognized the way the bowl was picked up. Shaky and slow. When Hana moved an object, it moved the same way the bowl just did.

I breathed and took a drink of my tea. If there was a spirit here, I had to find a way to get it out of the shop. But when I set my cup back down, I spitted the tea I just drank through the ghost that materialized across the table from me.

Jiji and Obaasan sprang up from the table when some of the tea got on their clothes. I didn't notice because there was a huge ninja standing with arms crossed and with a scowl aimed towards me.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Obaasan asked me.

I...I...Ineedtogotothebathroom," I yelled. I jumped over the table, around the spirit and up the stairs. I ran into my room and began pacing around, trying to figure out what just happened and what I could do to solve it.

That spirit was huge. Hana didn't look that tall at all in her ghost form. How could that guy be that big? How was I going to get him to leave?

"Ok, ok. Even if ghosts can't hurt them, he can certainly make life miserable for Obaasan and Jiji. I need to get him out of here."

"Taking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity," said a voice behind me.

I screamed and turned around, tripping over my feet in the process. The ninja was in my room, towering over me with a smirk on his face.

"How is it that you can see me, mortal?" he asked.

"Forget me. What are you doing here?" I asked, jumping to my feet and pointing towards him.

"My name is Niiro Kumo. I serve under the command of Master Nishi and Miss Kubai. I won't allow you to harm them."

"Neither will I," I growled, holding my arm in front of me in an attack stance. I don't know why I was doing this when I never had any training.

_Serve them? Yeah, right. He's a ghost._

My pathetic attempt to defend myself seemed to really amuse the ninja.

"What do you think you're doing, baka? I'm a spirit. You can't touch me and I can't physically harm you. You're just being-"

He shut up due to the fact I sank my fist into his gut. I don't know how I was able to touch him, but I didn't care. The only thing going through my mind was that I had to protect the two people I had come to love.

The ninja rubbed his stomach with a confused look on his face. Then the look became angry as he walked towards me.

"I don't know how you did that. No one has ever been able to touch me, not even Master Nishi. But I will not stand by and let you have a free shot!"

He swung his fist towards my head. I ducked and jumped backwards with speed I didn't even know I had. But Kumo used the momentum with the miss to swing his leg in a roundhouse kick that caught me in the chest. The air exploded from my lungs as I flew through the air and slammed into the wall. My body sunk to the floor.

My vision was filled with stars and all the air had left my lungs. But after my second wind, I was able to use the wall and push myself back up.

The ninja looked shocked. "That's impossible. No man has been able to get back up after my kick, much less a boy."

I coughed. "Oh, that hurt like hell though, I'll give you that. But I'm fighting to protect my family." I yelled and charged forward. Kumo did the same, rearing his fist back for another punch.

"What the hell are you doing, gaki?" came a voice from my door.

Both Kumo and I stopped. Jiji and Obaasan were standing in the doorway, staring at me with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

"You spit up the tea your Obaasan made for you without even bothering to clean up the mess and run upstairs like a demon was after you. Then we hear you jumping up and down in your room."

"I was....just doing some exercises?" I groaned after I said that, cursing myself at my lame attempt at a lie.

Jiji just stared at me for a few moments before looking towards Kumo.

"And just what are you doing, Kumo?"

"I was helping him?" he said sheepishly.

"What a minute. YOU CAN SEE HIM?" I yelled pointing towards the ghost.

Jiji just nodded like it was an everyday occurrence to see spirits.

"Yeah. He works for us after he lost a bet to me several years ago." Then he frowned. "How are you able to see him?"

I pointed towards Kumo. "He tried to pick a fight with me."

Kumo's face darkened. "You're the one who hit me. You started it."

"You did!"

"You did!"

"Whoa, hold on. You're each fighting other? How?" Jiji asked.

"How should I know? All I know is that this guy kicked the crap out of me"

Obaasan then smiled. "I know." She then turned to her husband and whispered something into his hear. Jiji looked surprised after a moment, then smiled.

"Well, well. It looks like we have a shaman in our home," he grinned towards me.

"A what? I'm a what?" I asked.

"A shaman," Obaasan said with a smile. "A link to the world beyond."

"Let me explain..." Jiji started.


	3. Direction and Spirit Unity

I woke up the next morning before the others. It was a real surprise for me that I was able to get six hours of sleep last night with only one nightmare. Usually, I was lucky enough to only get four hours with at least three nightmares.

It was still pretty early in the morning so I decided to let my friends enjoy a few hours of sleep before I figured we needed to get moving. We planned to move as soon as we were ready.

I got dressed in my jumpsuit and left the motel for the clearing we were at yesterday. This was one of my routines. I would get up in the morning to practice with my kunai and my katas. Besides weapons training, I was also skilled in Karate, much of the insistence from Jiji and Kumo.

The sky was still dark with only the small signs of dawn when I got to the clearing. I took a deep breath, then moved into the basic small exercises and stretches before I began the real workout. I learned the hard way about the dangers of not warming up my muscles. Did I ever.

When I was done, I strapped fifteen-pound weights to all of my limbs and a twenty-five pound workout vest. My friends think that it was stupid to pack these weights and funny that I would really on old-fashioned training to build up my muscles. But it was the way JiJi taught me.

After a couple more deep breaths, I started fighting in the basic routines of Karate, then some Tae Kwon Do. Karate originated from the Okinawan Islands, so Kumo, who was trained by the great Anko Itosu. The Father of Modern Karate.

Finally, I began a series of back flips and tumbling to work on my flexibility. I also did some tree jumping work on my agility.

When I was done with my martial arts, I started on my weapon kata. I pulled my knife out of my holster and channeled some of my furyoku into it. The knife was surrounded by a red aura and it grew a foot longer. With only my furyoku channeled into the knife, it wasn't even an eighth as powerful if I had Kumo to channel it.

But fighting like this was close to fighting with same weight as my Spider blade, so I could get a workout with this as well. Furthermore, training like this helped increased control over my furyoku.

I went through the routines Kumo taught me in sword techniques. He wasn't exactly an expert in kenjutsu, but he knew the basic techniques. Jiji also helped out with an old book about samurai swordsmanship he found in his shop.

Kumo taught me how to wield pretty any combat weapon that every existed. From bo to nunchucks to sais. But it was only with a sword that I felt that I found my choice weapon. It just felt natural in my hand.

It was about two hours of training before Kumo finally checked on me.

"Master, I think it's about time we head out."

I sighed and nodded.

"Hey, why didn't you want to come spar with me this morning?" I asked.

"I have taught you everything I know," he said. "Besides, you win every time we do."

"But still, it's better than doing nothing, right?"

Kumo shrugged. "Whatever you say, master."

The way he kept up with his formalities almost made me want to chuck a shuriken at his head, even though it wouldn't do anything. Just because Jiji told Kumo to treat me with the same respect as him, he didn't need to take it so far.

I walked back to the hotel, took a shower, washed my jumpsuit, put on my clothes from yesterday and met my friends at the small café across the street. They were there eating breakfast. As usual, Wyatt was intergrated with Zach while he was eating and Kaa was wrapped around Maria's shoulders. They were all talking and people around them were giving them weird looks. I guess it would be weird when a couple of kids are talking to things that only they can see.

"Well look who has arrived to finally join us for breakfast," Zach announced as I pulled up a chair.

"Sorry guys, I was training," I said.

"You're always training. You never sleep in and enjoy what a few extra hours you can have while dreaming about Carmen Electra on a beach somewhere."

I snorted on the outside and cringed inside. I never told Zach about my nightmares and why I never sleep in.

Maria popped him on the head with her fork.

"Jake doesn't need to her your sick, perverted dreams. Keep your opinion to yourself," she snapped.

Maria knew about my sleeping problems. She discovered them when were staying at the same hotel in Tokyo before we boarded onto the plane. She asked about them the next and I refused to tell. That is, until she threatened to have Kaa slither into my head in his spirit form.

Trust me, it's very disturbing and uncomfortable.

"Thanks for your sympathy, but I'll be okay. So what's the plan?"

"We were jusst dissscusssing where our next dessstination should be," Kaa hissed.

"We're waiting for your opinion," Waytt's voice echoed from Zach's body.

I shrugged. "I don't know. The Shaman council didn't exactly give us a direction to go. Just that we have to find Dobie Village with the next 30 days."

"We know that," Zach groaned. "But the question is which way do we go?"

"They did give us a clue, though," Wyatt said.

"Yeah, Dobie village is located in the desert. That means we just have to search an area that is several hundred thousand square miles and expands across five states. And not only that, we got to worry about some other shamans for cutting down the competition by eliminating it."

I felt my blood run cold after he said that.

"Maybe we should just ask around town," Maria suggested.

I shook my head. "I asked most of the locals last night while you guys were having fun. Not one person has heard of Dobie Village."

Everyone was staring at me when I was done explaining.

"What? I can't do a little research?"

"You were supposed to be having fun last night. I swear, you have go to be the most serious guy on the planet," Zack exclaimed.

"Let'ss plan firsst pleassse," Kaa groaned.

"He's right. We need to stay on track," Maria said. Her eyebrows narrowed as she thought. "Why don't we use our furyoku to find it. You know, expand our senses over the desert to see where the other shaman our going."

I shook my head. "There's a limit on how far we can expand our search. If we expand our senses to far, we'll run out of furyoku and will be incapacitated for the rest of the day. We can't risk that."

We were silent for a few minutes. Kaa started to slither across Maria's shoulders, Wyatt began to pace through tables and people and Zach twirled his gun on his finger. Only Maria was motionless.

I took my pendant out and stared at the dragon symbol. Whenever I was stumped or bothered, I would look at. It always gave me the feeling that both of my families were watching over me.

"We will always be there to guide you," Obaasan said once.

_If only you where here now._

I opened the pendant, gazing at my families once again. Mom...Dad....Obaasan....Jiji.

Wait a minute.

_Jiji...Nishi....West! That's it! Jiji's name means West!_

"Maybe we should go west," I suggested.

Everyone stopped and looked at me.

"West? What's in the west?" Maria asked.

I looked down at the table. "I don't know. But I just have a feeling that is the direction we need to go."

Zach snorted and put his gun back in his holster. "That's dumb. It could be the opposite direction that we need to go. If we're wrong, we lose time we can't afford to lose in finding the village."

"He's got a point," Wyatt agreed.

I sighed. I didn't know I was going to be shot down like this. Maybe my idea was stupid.

"I agree with my master," a voice said.

Kumo materialized out of his memorial tablet in my pocket and stood behind me.

"I feel that we will find the answers we seek in the west. We will not find them sitting here and doing nothing."

This shocked me. Kumo has never agreed with me, even when Obaasan and Jiji said I was right.

"I sssensse that aaasss well. Wesst we shall go," Kaa supported.

Maria smiled. "I'm for it."

We all turned to Zach and Wyatt. Zach scoffed.

"Fine. West it is." He then turned to me and pointed his finger in my face. "But if we miss out on the next round of the tournament for this, I swear I'll jab my boot so far up your ass you'll be eating rattlesnake skin for a week."

We all groaned. He made this threat to somebody at least once a week. He never did it though. It was jumped a empty threat.

When the bill was paid, we went to the outback store pick up some camping supplies. We thought we we're going to fly straight to the next location so we didn't bother to pack any survival supplies.

I bought a bigger backpack to hold my weights, a sleeping bag, socks, a hat, ration bars, a canteen, a sheet of tarp, hiking boots and a hatchet.

We all met on the outskirts of the town when we were down, each one of us carrying a pack.

"We ready to go?" I asked. Everyone nodded.

"Lead the way," Maria said.

"All right! Let's move on!" I yelled, stomping my right foot forward and pointing West for dramatic effect. Then took off down the road.

Behind me, everyone sweat-dropped, anime style.

* * *

After a full day of traveling, the map that Maria got showed us that were right on the New Mexico-Arizona border. We built a campfire away from the road so we wouldn't endanger any motorists driving by.

"You know, this is kind of nice," Zach said as he unrolled his sleeping bag. "Camping underneath the stars, hanging out with your friends and eating all the jerky you can." He then grabbed a piece of beef jerky from his pack and began eating it.

"That's got to last you until we get to the next town. And if you run out of food, I'm not going to share mine," Maria growled.

"I've got ten pounds of this stuff. No way am I going to run out."

"That is just like you waste what little money we have just to fill your stomach."

_And there they go again._

Zach did have a point. Growing up on the orphanage, we didn't exactly take trips into the country. It was a real experience to see thousands of stars in the sky with the milky way streaming like rivers. All of the bright lights in Naha limited me to seeing only a few stars, if I was lucky.

I was able to point every constellation that Obaasan showed me. Although, seeing for the real thing was a lot different than reading from a book. It made me wonder if all the spirits in the world were watching over us. I always thought that each star in the sky was a soul of someone who lived on earth. That their spirits continued to watch over their loved ones.

A few minutes later, Maria and Zach finally calmed down and climbed into their sleeping bags. We didn't say anything for a few minutes while the fire was beginning to burn itself out.

"I hope the coyotes won't eat us," Maria said suddenly.

"Coyotes? I'm more worried about rattlesnakes. A warm sleeping bag seems like the ideal place for a slimy snake to slither into," Zach mumbled. I stiffened when he said that.

"We are not sssslimy," Kaa hissed angrily.

"Yeah, whatever."

"You take that back," Maria said.

"Guys," I groaned. "Can't we have one moment where we are not at each other's throats?" Besides, that snake comment was beginning to make me a little anxious

"You're right. It's the scorpions you need to watch," Kevin laughed.

"There are other things you need to worry about besides animals you need to worry about," came a voice. It was quiet and calm, one I recognized from my nightmares.

I jumped out of my sleeping bag, grabbing my kunai in defense. Kumo appeared from his tablet and stood beside me, ready to integrate with my knife as soon as possible.

There, sitting on a boulder next to the fire, was a boy about our age. He had long, black hair and was wearing a poncho. He stared at me and smiled.

"Hello Kasai," he said.

"You." I growled.

* * *

FLASHBACK(12 years old)

Jiji explained to me what a shaman was. Apparently, I'm some sort of mystical being that has the ability to summon and control spirits. When I time came that I was in danger, I could merge, or intergrate with a spirit and use it's abilities to defend myself.

During spirit unity, I gain control of the spirit and everything that he or she has learned in their previous life. Instincts, techniques, muscle movement, memories.

"For example, if you were to integrate with a fighter pilot, you would know how to fly a plane as long as the two of you remained in spirit unity," Jiji explained. "So when you disengage yourself from your spirit, you lose those abilities. You would remember how to fly a plane, but you not as well as you did before."

"However, the more time you spend with your spirit, the more experience you gain from him or her," Obaasan said. "You become a part of each other."

I tried to absorb all of this but it was too much to take in at one time. I mean, seriously.

"How did I gain these abilities? What is mana?" I asked.

Jiji frowned. "I really don't know. Shamans these days are really rare. But too find one with no distinct ties to a shaman family is even more rare. I have heard no shamans from the Sawyer or Okanami family."

"As for mana, or furyoku, it's the spiritual energy that flows through the earth," Obaasan explained. "It exists in people, animals, water, air, trees, rocks, and even fire. Only a handful of people can wield this energy and channel it into their bodies. It's main purpose is to combine the body of a physical being together with a spiritual one. When they merge, they can become the most powerful forces known throughout the world."

"So how am I a shaman?"

"The only thing that I can think of is that both sides of your families must have been shamans at point within the past 500 years," Jiji explained. "As their families grew, they must have broken tradition and married others who didn't have any mana potential. Therefore, their ability to wield mana shrunk as your families continue to grow."

"So when your mother married your father, two separate ancient shaman families came together once again to unlock the barrier of mana and create you," Obaasan finished.

I crossed my arms and bowed my head. "So that's how I'm able to talk to ghosts."

Jiji nodded. "That's right. Tell me, how long have you been able to communicate with spirits."

I felt the bottom of my stomach disappear. After two weeks, I think it was about time to final tell them about Hana.

So I told them everything about my friend. Seeing her, trying to help her out, and watching her ascend into Heaven. That reason why that was the reason why they found me distressed that one evening.

Obaasan came over and hugged me. "You poor thing. You lost the only friend you ever made."

Kumo grunted. "Weakling."

"Oh, hush," Jiji snapped. He came over and put his hand on my shoulder. "Would you like to see her again?"

I jerked my head up and stared with disbelief.

"Believe it or not, there is a way you can see her. You were discovered by us just in time."

"How?" I asked.

"In three years, the 3rd annual Shaman tournament will take place. It's an event that occurs once every 500 years. By winning this tournament, you can become Shaman King and merge with the King of Spirits to turn your dreams into a reality."

"With who?" I questioned.

Obaasan smiled. "The Great Spirit itself."

I felt a chill go through me. Did they mean Kami? God? I could become one the greatest spirit on the planet?

"Are you willing to accept this responsibility? We could teach you if you want to. I warn you, it will not be easy," Jiji asked me.

To accept the power to communicate with spirits? To become one with the greatest spirit to ever exist?

"Yes."

Jiji smiled. "Excellent. We will begin your training tomorrow." He turned to leave. "Now let's go back down and finish lunch."

"Wait," I said. "How do you know all of this stuff? Are you two shamans as well?"

I watched as they both lowered their heads, looking disappointed.

"No," Jiji muttered. "I'm not a shaman. But...." He didn't finish as he turned and walked back downstairs.

I turned to Obaasan. "Did I say something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No. But you have to understand. Even when a shaman family stays with tradition and marries into another family, there can be problems. Sometimes a child who is born from a full-blooded shaman family cannot have any shamanic potential. There just normal human beings with the ability to see ghosts."

"That's what's bothering him?"

"Yes. Niishi was born into one of the most powerful shaman families to every exist. And when he couldn't wield furyoku, he was disowned by his father."

"Who was his family?"

"His full name is Asakura Nishi."

* * *

Nishi was right. Training to become a shaman was a lot tougher than I expected. In fact, if I wasn't a shaman, the training would have probably killed me.

One of his favorite methods of training was to strap ten-pound weights to my ankles and make me run around Naha City. He rode around in a scooter to make sure I didn't slack off. If I did, he would poke me with an ancient battle spear he had in his shop.

Then, he would lay a 50-pound boulder on my back and I would do push-ups until my arms collapsed. If he felt like it, he sit on me himself, while he would read a book.

Other times, he would assign me pull-ups in the park while kids were hanging off my legs, the electric chair for hours on end, make me swim across the ocean to the other Okinawan Islands, and off course, rope climb. But his version of rope climbing was to tie a 100-foot rope to the outside of an abandoned building. And yes, he would set fire to the bottom for 'motivation'.

In the evenings, Kumo would teach me the basic katas that he was taught at his boot camps as a child. He had the basic knowledge in most martial arts, but most of it was Tae Kwon Do and Jujitsu. Luckily, I adapted to these arts like a fish to water. I spent every night practicing on wooden dummies until my knuckles bled.

Even weapons came naturally to me. Kumo's choice of assassination was shuriken and knives. He wanted me to learn everything that he did.

Meanwhile, Obaasan would teach me about spirit unity with a spirit. It was a lot tougher than it looked. My body had to be strong enough to contain a spirit, hence the training. Not only that, I had to learn how to access the right amount of furyoku to merge my body and the spirit of a ghost together. When I could, I would be able to control 100% unity with my spirit.

The way to open my furyoku was to meditate. To open my mind to the energies of the earth. I had to feel and accept the spiritual power that the earth and spirits gave out. The more I strengthened my mind, the faster I would be able to access my furyoku.

See, every living thing has a certain amount of furyoku. When a human, plant or animal is created, only a measured amount of mana is given to that object. Mana cannot be increased in a lifetime. It remains the same. When the object dies, the mana given to it at birth is returned to the earth until another being is born.

But because of my descendants, my body was given more mana than an average object.

The energy of furyoku feels like a cold wind. It's not uncomfortable, but it does give you goosebumps. When I felt it flow through my body, I became aware of everything around me. The wind blowing through the city, the animals in the zoos, and the people moving around.

It was nothing that I had ever felt before. It was awesome.

Even though Jiji couldn't use mana, he could sense it. When I unlocked my barriers and unleashed my furyoku, he told me that he never sensed a more powerful being outside of his family. He said I could rival the Asakuras in power.

Every week, they would increase the work out. Little by little. And I as they did, I grew stronger, both in mind and body. My strength and agility was near superhuman. It wasn't long before I could beat Kumo in sparring.

Then came to the day I would finally merge with a spirit. After a year of training, Jiji finally said I was ready to try spirit unity into my body.

Although, Kumo was less ecstatic.

"I don't see why it has to be me, Master Nishi," complained Kumo. "Why can't we find another spirit?"

It was almost dusk and the three of us were in the park. There was nobody around so we felt safe to do this out in the open. Anybody who saw us would probably panic.

"Because the two of you have been training together for the past year," Jiji said. "You know each others techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. You two practically think alike."

Kumo groaned. "If I'm thinking the same thing the gaki is thinking, I should probably commit _seppeku_ right now."

I rolled my eyes. "You're a ninja, not a samurai. Besides, you're already dead."

"What's the word you children say? Duh?"

"Enough!" Jiji yelled. He turned to Kumo. "How about I make you a deal? If you become his guardian ghost until the shaman tournament is over, I will release you of your obligations."

Kumo's eyes widened. "You mean....I can be free?"

Jiji nodded. "When Kasai wins the tournament, he will have the King of Spirits as his guardian ghost. Your debt to me will be paid."

For the first time since I met him, Kumo actually smiled. It was small and quickly disappeared, but it was a smile nonetheless.

I found out the first week of training how Kumo became Jiji's servant. He was one the base Jiji was stationed at during the war, mocking soldiers and causing mayhem. You know, the usual ghost stuff. Jiji challenged him to a game of Go, where the loser would become the other's servant. Jiji annihilated Kumo, forcing him to become his servant until the end of his days.

"Very well." He turned to me and gave me the slightest bow. "Will you accept me as

your guardian ghost, Master Kasai?"

I was stunned. Never before had Kumo acted with this much nobility towards me. He never even called me by my first name before now. It was slightly creepy and made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't want to feel like I was superior to him.

"Just call me Kasai."

Jiji just smirked. "Sorry. But now that he belongs to you, he has to recognize you as his leader. Be sure to take care of him, Kasai-_sama_."

I sent a glare towards my grandfather. "Can we just get on with this?"

"Alright. Do you two remember what to do?" Jiji asked. Kumo and I both nodded. "Then begin." He backed away a good distance, which confused me.

"Why are you that far away?" I asked.

"Just in case you blow up when you overload your furyoku," he said casually while rubbing the bottom of his nose his finger.

Kumo and I both stared at him.

"WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME I COULD BLOW UP?!?!?" I screamed.

Jiji just raised his eyebrow. "I though you knew."

I groaned in frustration. You think that would be a handy piece of information to have.

But I couldn't show fear. If I could accomplish this, then I would be able to become a true shaman. And then, I will be able to see Hana again when I became Shaman King.

And possibly, perhaps see my parents.

I took a deep breath and positioned my body in the horse stance, keeping my knees bent and my feet shoulder width apart. My hands were in fists and rested at the sides of my waists. Then closed my eyes.

And then, I gradually let my furyoku flow through my body. Starting with my head, I felt it move down, spreading to both of my arms and ending in my fingertips. It continued down through my chest, stomach, thighs, and finally ending in my toes.

When I felt like I had the right amount of furyoku, I opened my eyes and nodded towards Kumo.

"Now, Niiro Kumo, spirit form" I said, holding my hand in front of me.

Kumo closed his eyes. His body began to swirl and compress in a red aura ball. His Hitodama (Spirit Ball) formed in my hand. He new form looked like a small ball of fire with a bandana tied around his head.

When his transformation was complete, I raised him over my head.

"Unity!" I cried, pushing the ball into my chest.

It didn't hurt when the hitodama merged with my body, but it was extremely uncomfortable. I could feel the ball merged with my soul very gradually. The best way I could explain it was like pushing the north pole ends of a magnet together. My body seemed resist in that way until one magnet switched around automatically to merge together.

When his spirit entered my chest, the cool feeling of furyoku running through my body instantly change to hot. A fire was coursing through my veins, filling up every single cell. I could feel my muscle tense and grow slightly, yet still feel the same. Furyoku seemed to flow from my body, creating a gust of wind around me. Jiji braced against the wind and covered his eyes to keep pebbles and grass from flying into them.

Then came the unity of our minds. Like with our souls, they seemed to repel each other until gradually accepting. Once they did, a wave of memories enter my brain that I knew were Kumo's.

I could see his life. His happiness as a young boy in his village, his sadness when his family was killed by bandits, his determination to become the greatest ninja. I could see every kill he made; from common thieves to feudal lords. Only now did I understand how sad his life was. And how everyone came to fear him.

Also, I automatically learned all the techniques and knowledge that he was taught in his training camps. I knew how to fight, how to gain advantage over a strong opponent, study my enemies weaknesses, how to shoot a bow, forge a sword, become invisible(not literally but close enough), how to train the right muscles to increase my stamina and I learned different points to paralyze my enemy.

And finally, I learned how to kill. It was not a technique I wanted to learn, but there was nothing I could do about it.

It took a few seconds for my body to calm down and accept the changes. The wind around me died down. Jiji opened his eyes and looked at my transformed state.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. My body felt stronger and faster. I did a couple of practice punches and kicks. I moved with such agility and grace I never had before. I couldn't move like this despite all the practicing I've done. I smiled.

But then frowned. I could feel a presence in my mind. I was in complete control over my body, but I could feel like someone else was there.

"Integration complete, Nishi" I said. I answered with a voice that didn't sound like mine. It had a deep sound, one with a commanding authority that I wish I had before.

Jiji's eyes widened. "You completed 100% integration with your spirit on your first try?"

"I guess," I shrugged.

"That is really impressive. I never even heard of it being done before."

Jiji didn't look happy, though. He had this disturbed look on his face.

"Is there something wrong," I asked.

Jiji snapped out of his daze. "No, no. Nothing at all." He then smiled. "So let's see what you can do."

He then gave me a series of the same tests he gave me on our first day of training. Unlike on my first day, every test seemed three times as easy. I hardly got winded running through the city, I did nearly a thousand push-ups with a 100-pound boulder on my back and I did so many chin-ups that the tree branch I was using snapped under the pressure.

But after a hour of practicing, I could feel the fire inside me begin to cool down. Obaasan told me that was a sign my body was beginning to tire. She told me if I pushed my body too hard, my body would be exhausted and leave me incapacitated.

I placed my hand on my chest. "Kumo. Detatch spirit."

I pulled my hand away from chest. With it came Kumo's spirit ball. It was like was pulling a piece of my soul out of my body. Like everything else, it was uncomfortable pulling him out.

The instant he was out of my body, he changed into his spirit form. I felt my body shake and I collapsed on the ground.

Jiji was at my side. "Your first time is always the worst. However, the more you practice, the easier it will become."

"It was the most amazing feeling," I whispered. My voice had returned to normal. "I felt powerful, dangerous, and confident."

"I must admit, it was somewhat a interesting experience," Kumo said.

"Amazing yes, but you need practice," Jiji said. "It took you nearly fifteen seconds to full integrate together. Another shaman will not wait that long. They will attack you as soon as they can. You two need to work integrating faster."

"Really? It seemed like a real struggle to merge the first time," Kumo said.

"Yeah. His spirit just didn't seem to want to go in," I added.

Jiji frowned again. "You're saying your souls didn't merge?"

I shook my head. "No, they did. It just took a few seconds."

Jiji had this far daze on his face. His eyebrows nearly merged together and his eyes looked troubled. He seemed to be thinking real hard.

"Jiji, is something wrong?"

He broke his daze and looked at me. "No. I think we've had enough training for today though. Let's go eat dinner."

We walked back to the store. Kumo and I began discussing what it was like for each when we were merged together. He said he could feel all of my movements, but was not making them. Instead, it was like he was watching everything through a window.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" I asked Jiji.

"We're going to continue with the same thing. I'll increase your weights and laps and we'll add integration in the evening instead of sparring."

I groaned and Jiji slapped me in the back of the head.

"Quit complaining. You're almost close to beginning the next step to becoming a true shaman."

I brightened up. "Really? What's the next step?"

Jiji smiled. "Your Over Soul"

* * *

FLASHBACK ENDS

"It's nice to see you again, Kasai. How have you been?" the boy asked. He still had that creepy smile on his face.

"You know how I've been....Hao."

"Must you be so rude? How do you think your sofubo(grandparents) feel?"

"Better," I growled. "NOW THAT THEY WILL BE AVENGED!!" I charged towards Hao.

* * *

Would my readers please send me a review? I really like to know what everyone thinks of the story so far. I can't tell if it is a good story or not.


	4. Death of Spirits

To my readers: I know I'm putting more of the story into the flashbacks instead of the present and I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to explain how Kasai ended up as a shaman and his history with Hao. I will have try to have one small flashback in this chapter, but the next will be nothing but a flashback. After that, I shouldn't have any more.

Ch. 4

* * *

I charged towards Hao with Kumo forming into a spirit ball in my hand. When he was done, I leapt into air with my kunai spinning in my other hand.

"Kumo! Spirit Form and into the kunai!" I yelled. Kumo's spirit and the knife combined together to form the Kumo Heijin. As I descended from my leap, I brought my Over Soul back over my head and swung it down to split Hao in half.

But before my blade was inches away, hot fire instantly surrounded Hao and blocked my attack. My body froze for a moment in mid-air. Then the fire increased and the flames and force flung me from Hao and back to my friends. My spirit control broke as soon as I was thrown back.

I landed in the dirt and rolled a couple of time before colliding with another boulder. My spine crack from the impact and my tongue got caught between my teeth. Blood instantly filled my mouth. I think I bit a piece off.

"Jake!" Maria cried, instantly at my side. "Are you okay?"

I spit some blood out of my mouth. "I'm fine."

The fire around Hao died down. He was untouched by the heat and still had that smile.

"Now, is that any way to treat a friend? After all we have been through?"

Zach stood up from my side and held his hands out, protecting me and Maria. "Who are you?"

Hao put a fake pout on his face.

"You mean Kasai-san hasn't told about me? His best friend?" he asked in hurt voice.

"Don't be fooled guys," I grunted while struggling to my feet. "This guy is the real deal."

"How was he able to block your attack," Maria asked. "I didn't see his guardian ghost anywhere."

"I don't know. I've never figured it out. All I've seen him do is manipulate fire."

Hao laughed and jumped off the boulder. Standing at his full height, he wasn't much taller than me. If it wasn't the weird, killer aura that he gave off, he would seem like a normal kid in a poncho.

"If you really can't sense my spirit, then you three shouldn't even consider yourselves shaman. My guardian ghost is always around me, protecting me."

"Watch where you step, partner," Wyatt said as he materialized beside Zach.

"Even if we cannot sssseee your ghossst, we will ssstand by our ssshaman," Kaa hissed.

"Regardless of the consequences," Kumo said as he reappeared beside me.

I was touched by what Kumo said. It was the first time he ever said he would protect me by his own power before.

Zach turned to me. "Saddle up," he said as he pulled his revolver out of his pocket.

"Right," Maria said. She unclipped her whip from her belt while Kaa transformed into his Spirit Ball mode. "Let's rumble."

I nodded and grabbed my kunai out of the dirt. Kumo returned to his Hitodama form and flew into the knife.

"Spirit form and attack," the three of us yelled together. Our weapons changed to their Over Soul forms: Zach's Cowboy Cannon, Maria's Scale Whip, and my Kumo Heijin.

We ran away from each other to get space for our attacks, but remained at each other's side. I was in the middle. Ten feet away on my right was Zach. Maria was on my left.

Zach raised his cannon towards Hao. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck go up as Zach built up his furyoku into his shot.

"**Cannonball Blast!**" A navy ball of mana screamed towards Hao with enough force to destroy a house.

Marai went next. She twirled the whip over head in a repeat pattern of circles. The wind picked up around her until her mana formed a funnel. She reared the whip back and cracked it towards Hao.

"**Twister Strike**," she cried out. The tornado zoomed to Hao with the power of a train.

It was my turn now. I channel my furyoku into my medium. The energy the blade absorbed began to swell with power. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it.

When I felt like I had enough furyoku absorbed, I unleashed my long-ranged distance attack. I swung the Kumo Heijin into in a horizontal arc, releasing the energy I had built up.

"**Seirei Shougekiha **(Spirit Shockwave)" I yelled. A wave of red furyoku flowed towards Hao like a tsunami. There was enough force behind this This was my main attack

We fired our attacks at the same time. The mana we fired off hit Hao with a tremendous explosion. A wall of dust kicked off the ground and covered a few acres. The backdraft of our attacks sent us to our knees. There we waited patiently for the dust to clear and see the results.

What I didn't expect to hear was two sets of girlish giggling and one amused chuckle. After a moment, the dust began to clear and four figures instead of one were standing in the crater we just created, completely unscathed by our attacks. One of them was Hao, still with that smile on his face.

The other three were new to me. They were all girls a little older than us. The one chuckling had a cigarette in her mouth. She had blue hair with one her locks covering her right eye. She was a little taller than me and wearing a tube top with a pair of jean shorts. In front of her was her guardian ghost; a knight. He was about eight feet tall and carried a jousting spear.

The girl on the left was giggling like mad. She had orange hair tied into a spiky ponytail. She was wearing a pair of black overalls with a white shirt underneath the straps. She was holding a broomstick. The way she was laughing was really creeping me out. Her guardian ghost was a jack-o-lantern with a skeleton's body. Its hollowed grin was really spooky.

The last girl on the right was one of the most depressed looking girls I had ever seen. She had long, blonde hair tied into two ponytails. She wore a short, black dress with frills and a pair of white stockings. The girl's guardian ghost was held in her hand and took the form of....a doll?

"Heh heh heh. That attack tickled a little bit, cowgirl. Is your guardian ghost a pillow?" Pumpkin girl said

A wave of killer intent by Maria nearly knocked me off my feet. I've only felt it once and the last time I did, the guy she was fighting ended up in a coma. I heard he still hadn't woken up.

"The blast from the cowboy was much either," Dolly said.

A low growl came from right. Two separate growls.

The girl with the knight gave me a calculated look. It made me feel like I was under a microscope.

"You, though. It took me a lot of furyoku to block your attack. You are actually worthy of joining our little group. So why don't you?"

I pointed my sword past the girls to Hao. "Because of that scum you three are protecting."

Knight girl flinched and so did her spirit. "You will not address Master Hao in such a way, bastard."

Pumpkin girl scowled has well. "How dare you!"

"Now, now, he's free to speak his mind," Hao chuckled. "If he wants to think that I'm a heartless bastard, he's free-

"Your are!" Maria yelled. "Jake told me what you did to his guardians!"

"Oh, that..."

* * *

FLASHBACK

5 months ago. Age 15

"Over Soul form is one of the most difficult forms of spirit control known to the shaman world. Instead of merging a spirit with your body, you use your furyoku to merge it with a medium. The medium has to have a spiritual significance or your furyoku won't merge with your weapon," Jiji explained.

"So what is my weapon?" I asked.

After two years of training with spirit unity, Jiji finally said I was ready for the next step in becoming a shaman. Two years of regular spirit unity prepared me for this day. The time it took me to merge with Kumo went from fifteen seconds to three. I've mastered all forms of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and weapons training. Everything Kumo knew, I've mastered.

And not a moment too soon. The shaman tournament was about to begin. I didn't know when though. Jiji told me there would be a sign but what it was, I didn't know.

But there was still that resistance when Kumo and I merged together. During spirit unity, it was like our souls were never meant to be joined. Jiji was worried that was going to affect our battles, but we didn't have a choice.

"I have selected the weapon for you that will be most likely be the best for my Over soul form," Kumo stated.

"You've selected it?"

Jiji nodded. He pulled a wooden box from his backpack. It was made from black mahogany and was polished enough to gleam in the fading light. The only decoration on it was on the lid. A spiral was etched in the center with a small triangle on the left of it.

"What does that symbol mean?" I asked.

"I don't know," Kumo stated. "But legend has it, the weapon inside once belonged to the most powerful warrior in the land, past or present. After the last great war, one that threatened to tear the nations apart, the warrior brought peace to this land. Peace that has lasted to this very day."

"What happened to this warrior?"

"No one knows. Only a short time after the war was over, the warrior disappeared. He was never seen again."

I was in awe. The weapon I was about to receive was from a man that brought peace to the land.

"What was his name?" I asked.

Kumo bowed his head in shame. "I'm afraid no one remembers. It's one of the most shameful truths we've come to face. A man that ended chaos in the world was never remembered. But it was rumored that he was powerful enough to destroy mountains, fight an a platoon of soldiers by himself, and control the elements around him."

"But now the time has come for your time," Jiji said. He handed me the box. "It's your turn to bring peace to the world."

"Me?"

Jiji nodded. "When a Shaman King is decided, he has the power to bring peace or destruction to the Earth. But for the past 1o00 years, a shaman of good has always prevailed. But there are shamans in the world that want to bring chaos and death instead of peace. It will be your job to prevent that until the next tournament."

"In the other worlds, the fate of the world rests on you," Kumo finished.

I felt my knees go weak. Me? I was the one that had to save the world?

"How can I make such a difference?" I whispered.

"Through the strength of your heart and your determination to prevail. You are just what humanity needs to turn us into the right direction."

_To have everything depend on me...to save the world. How can I say no._

I stood straight and looked at both Jiji and Kumo.

"I'll do it."

Jiji smiled. "That's the spirit. Now hurry up and let's get started."

I nodded and opened the box. Inside, laying on a velvet cushion, was an ancient kunai knife. However, it was a little different from the ones Kumo trained me with. Instead of a flat spade, the knife's blade was a perfect triangle. The sides of the blade were barely three inches long. Also, part of the handle near the blade looked like it was chipped.

"This is the weapon the great warrior wielded?" I asked suspiciously.

"Don't be fooled by it's appearance. It was rumored that the great warrior could destroy an army with that kunai."

I scoffed and spun the kunai in my hands. "Where did you find this thing?"

"Kumo led me to it last year. Remember that antique convention I went to last year in Tokyo? That was so Kumo and I could search for it. We found it buried in the Aoyama Cemetery in the Minato District of Tokyo."

I froze. "You took this from a cemetery?"

"Oh, don't be a big baby. Are you afraid the spirits are going to come after you?" Jiji joked.

"Well...."

"Can we move this along?" Kumo interrupted, obviously annoyed.

I shook out of my daze. Kumo was right. I needed to get back on track.

"Alright, let's do this," I muttered. Jiji stepped back about fifteen feet away, just in case I exploded.

I began to channel furyoku into the kunai. It was a little more difficult than using it for my body. I had to push beyond the boundaries of my body and into a physical object. Also, I had to channel the energy into one spot instead of spreading it out.

When the kunai began to glow with a faint, red aura, I nodded to Kumo. He nodded back and closed his eyes, his body shifting.

"Kumo! Spirit Form!" Kumo changed into his Hitodama(Spirit Ball) mode and appeared in my hand.

"Let's do this," Kumo said with a smile.

"It's time for the real thing." I held my weapon out in front of me. "Now, into the kunai!"

Just like with my body, there was a small resistance when Kumo's Hitodama began to unite with the kunai. It took a few seconds of pushing the two objects together before the they finally united.

However, due to my inexperience with an Over Soul, the amount of mana released from the two objects was nothing compared to regular spirit unity. It was like a small tornado had formed around me, kicking up dust, rocks, leaves, and the weights I had used for training.

Jiji was thrown off his feet and rolled about fifty-feet away. When he gazed at me, I'm pretty sure all he could see was a tornado of dirt and red mana.

It took me a about a minute to finally get my furyoku under control. The wind around me calmed down and Jiji hobbled over to me.

When I finally calmed down, I gazed at my new weapon. In my hands was not a kunai, but a katana. The red blade was four feet long, three inches wide and decorated with wave designs. At the point were two matching, curved spikes, like spider fangs. The guard was decorated with eight spider legs. The handle was long enough to grasped with two hands. Despite my weapon being changed, it still felt as light as it did before.

But it was the aura around my weapon that got me. Jiji told me that every shaman's mana is unique and has a different color. My color was red-violet color. It almost matched an evening sunset. The red mana covered my weapon and ran up to the elbow in my right arm. Between my elbow and the handle was a sphere of furyoku that had eight black eyes in perfect symmetry around each other.

"Red, huh? I kind of expected that," Jiji joked.

I chuckled then stopped. I immediately felt exhausted. Keeping up control with my Over Soul was going to be a lot tougher than normal spirit unity.

"Ah, I see fatigue is already setting in because of your inexperience. We need to practice more to overcome that. Don't worry. Gaining control with your Over Soul will be a lot quicker than with spirit unity since you know the basics.

"Good, because I can tell this we need practice," Kumo said.

"Yeah," I nodded. We were silently for a few moments before I jerked the sword away from me.

"How the hell are you talking?!" I shouted.

Kumo's eight eyes were surprised as well. "I have no idea."

Jiji's expression was one of shock. "First, you achieve 100% unity with your spirit on your first time. Then you reach the second level of your Over Soul form."

He walked up and squinted at me.

"Just what in Kami's name are you?"

I cowered under his gaze. "I wish I knew myself."

Jiji's look went from one of suspicion to sympathy. "I'm sorry Kasai. You just seem to keep surprising me. None of this has been heard of before."

"Not even from the Asakuras?"

Jiji shook his head. "Not even from my family," he said with a bitter tone. I immediately shut my mouth. Every time the name Asakura was mentioned, I felt the air temperature go down a couple of degrees.

After a few minutes of stewing, Jiji snapped his head back up. "Let's go home. Hime should have dinner ready for us by the time we get back. And frankly, I would rather get there before the police get here."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "The police?"

"Look around, gaki," Jiji said, waving his arms around. "Look what you did to the park."

I gazed around and my spirit control broke in shock. My little experiment with furyoku had completely obliterated the playground. The swings were smashed up, the slide was like a crumbled soda can, the jungle gym was scrap metal, and several trees were uprooted.

"I did that?" I asked in a weak voice.

"You don't know your own strength kid. Let's get going."

* * *

We made it back just as Obaasan was taking the pot of stove.

"How did it go, you three?" she asked as we kneeled down to the table.

"The boy actually seems worthy to compete in the upcoming tournament," Kumo answered.

"Surprising, huh?" Jiji joked while messing up my hair.

I groaned and pulled away his hand. "I thought you guys had a lot more confidence in me."

Obaasan chuckled. "We do. Don't let them get you riled up. Now let's eat."

Dinner was filled with laughs and jokes as we ate. Obaasan thought is was hilarious that I destroyed a playground with my inexperience. She thought is was funnier when I mimicked the look on Jiji's face after he found out I achieved the second level of my Oversoul.

When we were done, I volunteered to do the dishes while everyone else went to the living room to watch TV. It only took a few minutes and I really enjoyed doing these things for my grandparents. It made me feel even more welcomed. When I was done, I went to join them, however I came into a room that wasn't lit by the TV screen, but by candles on a cake. Jiji, Obassan and Kumo stood together next a chocolate covered cake with 15 candles.

"Otanjoubiomedetougozaimasu, Kasai," everyone said together.**(Note:I checked an online translation and I actually believe that this is how the say 'Happy Birthday')**

"We decided to give you an American style birthday party," Obaasan said.

I was speechless. I never got a happy birthday before. True, in the orphanage, we celebrated our birthdays, but no one ever wished me a happy birthday before.

The corners of my eyes began to water as I gazed at the scene.

"Master, are you ok?" Kumo asked.

I wiped my eyes and smiled. "I'm fine. Arigatou everyone."

"Your welcome. Now hurry up and blow out your candles. I don't want to eat cake with wax on it."

I chuckled and walked to my cake. For the first time, I could actually blow out the candles on my cake.

"Don't forget to make a wish," Obaasan said.

"Wish?" asked Kumo.

I closed my eyes, thinking about the what I wanted most in the world. After a few moments, I decided and opened my eyes. I took a deep breath and blew out the candles.

Jiji clapped. "What did you wish for, gaki?"

I smiled. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"What is this wish?" Kumo asked.

"It's a tradition when someone blows out the candles on a birthday cake," Obaasan explained. "When you blow out the candles, you can wish for anything you want in the world. As long as you don't tell any the wish, it will come true."

Kumo snorted. "Ridiculous. Master, please tell me you don't believe in such superstitions?"

I shrugged. "Why not? I didn't think it was possible to become a shaman. Why can't a birthday wish come true?"

"Because it's childish."

"Enough," Jiji said. "Just hurry up and opened your presents."

I blinked. "You got me presents?"

"Three," Obaasan smiled proudly. She handed me a flat box. "Jiji and I guessed what your mana color would be and we turned out to be right. Hope it fits."

The wrapping paper just disappeared as I dug greedily into the box. I couldn't help myself. When I opened the lid, I gasped at what it was. Inside was a black battle jacket with red trim and a high collar. On the back was a red spider with long legs stretching across the fabric. On the bottom were red flame decorations rising a few inches from the hem. There were also thin, red lines that went across the whole material, just like spider webs.

I immediately put it on. It fit like a glove. The bottom of the jacket was even with my knees with the sleeves going to my elbows. I rotated my shoulders and stretched out my arms, checking to see if it was tight around the shoulders. Luckily, Obaasan guessed the right size.

Then I noticed the symbol that was on the right side of the jacket, covering my heart. It was kanji that read 'honoo' or flame.

I gazed at Obaasan. "Did you make this?"

She nodded. "It took me a while. It would probably be best to wear that only when you are in an official fight so it doesn't get torn up if you wear it constantly."

I went over and hugged her. It seemed unbelievable that I could actually find someone that would spend their time to make me something.

Jiji coughed and handed me his present. "Hurry up. I want cake."

I chuckled and opened his present. It was only a small box, but I could tell it was much more than that. Inside was a really impressive medallion the size of my fist. It was a ying-yang symbol with a gold dragon running along the edges and between the two colors. The medallion looked really expensive.

"Press the button on the side."

I did and the medallion opened up. One side had a picture of Jiji and Obaasan. It was one I had seen hanging next to their door. It was one that was taken a year after they were married. On the other side, was the one that I had never seen before. It was a picture of a man and a woman sitting on a hospital bed, holding a baby. The picture was slightly yellow but still had color. The man had dark brown hair, brown eyes and had a medium build. The woman, who was clearly of Asian descent, had long, dark hair, sapphire-blue eyes, and a thin face. Both of them were smiling.

Then I realized what the picture was when I saw the eyes, hair, and the brown edges around the photo.

"Is this...." I whispered.

Jiji nodded. "Yep. Those are your parents."

I looked at him. "Where did you find this?"

"I went to the inn where the fire took place. It was rebuilt and the owner kept a couple of things that survived the blaze. One of them was this picture."

A wave of emotions just came crashing down on me all at once. For the first time in 15 years, I finally was able to see what my parents looked like. I felt my legs begin to give out. Luckily, Jiji noticed.

"Whoa," he said as he grabbed my beneath my shoulders. He lead me to the couch and sat down beside me. "Are you ok?"

I nodded and rubbed my wet eyes. "I'm fine. I just wasn't.....you know, expecting this."

Jiji chuckled. "It's not over yet."

"Here's your next present." Obaasan handed me an envelope. I opened it up to find a plane ticket to Tokyo, a key card, and......500,000 yen?!?!?

"Where did you get all of this?" I yelled.

Jiji smiled. "I sold the Daimyo's tea set."

I felt my jaw hit the floor. That was Jiji's pride and joy. It was easily the most expensive thing in his shop. I'm surprised he even sold it.

"What's this?" I held up the card.

"That is a room card for the hotel we will be staying at," Obaasan explained. "That tea set made us very rich for the moment, so we decided to splurge a little bit. We got the deluxe suite for the next five months."

"Just how much was set?" I asked.

Jiji chuckled. "Just enough to afford the hotel and live comfortable for the next ten years."

Then I remembered what they said earlier. "What a minute. You mean...you guys are coming with me?"

"You didn't think we were going to miss this, did you?" Jiji said, nodding next the door. A pile of suitcases were stacked and ready to go.

"But what about the shop? The tourist season and the shaman tournament are both at the same time."

Jiji snorted. "The shop can be empty for a while."

"We want to be there to support you," Obaasan said while putting a hand on my shoulder.

"And we will personally grind your ass into the ground if you don't pass."

Obaasan reached out and smacked Jiji on the back of the head. "Shut up!" She turned back to me. "We will be proud of you no matter what you do."

Jiji smirked while rubbing his head. "Hai. We'll always be proud of you."

I stood up and gave them both a hug. This was almost beginning to be too much. Never once in my life was I appreciated this much. Coming from nothing to getting everything. The Great Spirit must be smiling upon me.

Jiji broke the hug. "Now, go upstairs and get packed. Once your done, will have some of your birthday cake and then well leave. The flight for Tokyo leaves tonight. I don't want to be late and miss my spa treatment I ordered for tomorrow."

I laughed and ran upstairs to my room. There were only a few things I needed to back. My jumpsuit, a few t-shirts, some pants, and some underwear. Anything else that I needed I could buy with my birthday money.

While I was packing, I thought I heard the doorbell we had when that let us know someone entered the shop. We were supposed to be closed, but I was too excited to notice. It only took a few minutes to pack. When I was done, I begin to walk downstairs, but stopped halfway when I heard voices in the living room. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but they sounded very angry.

All of sudden, I heard Jiji shout:

"GET OUT, HAO!!"

They next thing I knew, a tremendous explosion rocked the shop and knocked me off my feet. My head hit the back of the stairs and all I saw were stars. A sharp pain in my back told me I hit the corner of a couple stairs. It took me a moment to stand up and stumble the rest of the way downstairs.

"Nishi! Kubai!" I called out.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I nearly fell over in shock. Pretty much the entire kitchen, living room, and shop was obliterated and on fire. All of the antiques were gone along with the furniture and appliances. The windows and one of the walls were blown out. I could see people fleeing the scene in the streets.

And there, in the center of the chaos, was a boy with long hair and a poncho. He was surveying the scene with a sick satisfied look on his face. He especially grinned at two, black lumps at his feet. It took me a moment to realize what they were as I became weak in the knees.

I then roared in frustration as my grandparents dissolved into ash and scattered to the winds.

* * *

END OF FLASHBACK.

"Oh, that. You're still sore about that?" Hao asked.

"YOU BASTARD!!" I roared, charging towards Hao. Kumo flew into my kunai and my Kumo Heijin formed in my hand. This time, I held the sword in front of me, prepared to stab Hao in his smiling face.

But before I even got close, the knight spirit blocked my attack with his spear. His block stopped my charge. Both of our weapons were crossed together, each one of us fighting to gain the upper hand.

"Get out of my way!" I yelled.

"I won't let harm Master Hao," said Knight girl. "Don't let him pass, Ashcroft."

The knight, or Ashcroft, and me were at a stalemate for a couple of moments before I was able to dig my feet in and push him away. Ashcroft leapt back and charged again. I swung my sword up to parry the attack and then spun around to slice him in half. But he used the momentum of my block to spin and block my attack.

It was then my friends entered the battle. Zach and Maria surrounded Ashcroft at a triangle point and unleashed their long-range attacks.. However, the two other girls jumped in front of them and blocked them. Then, they broke off to fight one-on-one. Zach against the doll girl and Maria against the pumpkin girl.

"Three against one sounds unfair, doesn't it Marion?" Pumpkin girl asked the her friend.

"No, it doesn't Matilda," the girl in the black dress said. "Let's even the odds."

"Kanna, we'll take care of the cow pies while you deal with spider boy," Matilda laughed.

I felt a surge of mana when she finished that sentence. One that almost flattened me and Ashcroft.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL US?" Zach and Maria screamed at the same time. I felt a shiver go through my body. It was really scary when they got angry like that.

* * *

_**Maria's battle**_

Maria charged towards Matilda and her pumpkin ghost, intent to cause as much bodily harm as she could to the pigtailed girl. She took an extreme offense to being called cow dung.

She swung her whip in a circle over head and cracked it towards the Pumkin puppet. The blade at the end of the whip sped towards the puppet with such velocity that there was no way it could dodge.

However, the Pumpkin actually pulled two of its ribs from it body and blocked the incoming blade. Maria was a little stunned at the ghost's quickness.

Matilda laughed. "Your going to have to be a lot quicker than that to get through Jack's defenses."

Maria growled and reared her whip back for another attack. But before she could snap it, Jack the pumpkin threw its ribs right towards her face like they were Kasai's kunai. Only Maria's quick reflexes saved her as she leapt above the hail of bones.

_So her ghost acts like a puppet instead of being connected to her body,_ Maria thought. _And by the way she's twirling that broom, I'm guessing that's her spirit medium. If I can destroy that broom, then her guardian ghost will be useless._

When she landed, Maria began to circle around Jack, hoping to find an opening. But wherever she went, Jack would always be there to intercept her and force away. The battle continued like this for several minutes. Each time Maria found an opening, she would be blocked off. There were also times when Maria had to be on the defense. Not only could Jake throw his bones, he could also join them together into a sword or spear.

Maria was not a close-combat fighter, so avoiding Jack's bone weapons became number one on the list instead of destroying Matilda's medium.

That is, until Jack finally made a mistake. He over extended one of his spear thrusts, causing Maria to duck and land on her back as Jack sailed over her. Taking this opening, Maria brought both her legs up and kicked the puppet into the air. It soared above the battlefield and Maria jumped back to her feet.

Grinning, Maria charged towards Matilda. She finally had her opening as she thrust her whip towards the broom. The blade whistled through the air and....stopped a mere inches away as the tip was suddenly surrounded by orange furyoku.

"Hahaha. Nice try, but not quick enough," Matilda cackled.

Maria followed the line of furyoku until it was met with Jack still in the air. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. Somehow, Jack dislocated all of his bones and created a whip that caught Maria's blade. The only thing that holding the whip was Jack's pumpkin head.

"Jack! Finish it!"

Jack recalled the whip, jerking Maria into the air. As she flew towards him, Jack aligned all of his bones back into their original place. He then pulled a few bones out, formed a bo staff, and swung it towards Maria.

Maria closed braced for the as the staff connected with her chest and stomach, knocking the breath out of her and sending back to the ground like a comet.

* * *

_**Zach's battle**_

_For a girl wearing heels and a dress, she sure is quick, _Zach thought.

Zach fired cannonball after cannonball towards the girl, but she would either dodge them or use her doll's blast attacks to deflect them. He couldn't believe that such small blasts were able to deflect his cannonballs.

_This girl must be more powerful than she looks._

"How can your dolly be powerful enough to meet my attacks head on?" Zach asked.

The girl, Marion, smirked. "Chuck's just special."

"Chuck?"

_Ok, this girl is really freaky_

"Whatever. You're still going down"

Marion giggled. "You're funny."

For the next few minutes, they both fired attacks and dodged them. Neither one of them was going to give an inch. It was like some kind of dance as the jumped and dove out of range of each other's attacks.

Zach noticed he was beginning to tire as one of the pink bullets grazed his vest, making the singe mark across his chest. A tick marked appeared in his forehead.

"Hey! This his my favorite vest!" He shouted.

Marion giggled. "Sorry. I was aiming for your heart, sweetie."

Zach growled. "All right. It's time to get serious." He aimed for the girl's feet. "**Smokescreen Bomb**."

A black cannonball flew towards the ground and landed at the girl's feet, exploding and surrounding the two in a cloud of black smoke.

"No fair," Marion coughed.

Zach chuckled and aimed the cannon towards the smoke. "Sorry, sweetheart. Cannonball bla-"

His attack was interrupted as his sister flew by him and crashed into the ground behind him. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust and he thought he felt the ground tremor.

"Maria!" Zach called out. He never seen his sister taken down like that before. If her opponent was that powerful, he should probably finish his now while he had the chance.

He turned back to his smokescreen only to find it and the girl gone. He checked his right, left and behind him, but couldn't find her. As he turned around again, he finally spotted her, standing several away from where she originally was, but her guardian ghost was nowhere to be seen.

Marion smirked. "Looked down, silly."

Zach did, only to find Chuck standing on his own feet while pointing a gun point-blank at his chest.

"Oh, shi-" he muttered as his chest was suddenly slammed with several pink bullets. Pain erupted throughout his body as he flew through the air and landed next to his sister.

* * *

_**Back to me**_

"Maria! Zach!" I yelled to my friends, praying to Great Spirit that they were ok. After being on par with Ashcroft for several minutes, I could tell these girls were a lot stronger than any opponents we faced in the preliminaries. It took all I got just to stay even with my opponent, Kanna.

"That does it. **Kumo Kiritaru**," I yelled, spinning around in a circle, unleashing a ring of furyoku. The blast caught Ashcroft in the chest, sending him flying back towards his shaman.

I took this opportunity to leap to my friends. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the rough condition they were in. Maria had created an crater from her impact to the ground, at least three feet deep. She was stirring and her eyes were open, but they were glazed over and slightly in pain. I could also see that there was a little blood leaking out of her ears. She might have had a concussion

Zach looked just a bad. His vest and shirt were shredded and his chest was bleeding. It looked like someone took a cheese grater to his chest. He was wrapping what remained of his shirt and tried to put pressure on the wounds.

Their guardian ghosts stood around them, trying to help out with what they could.

"Are you two okay?" I asked.

Zach nodded, but his face was wincing in pain. "I"ll be fine."

Maria was trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head. "I'm okay too....I think."

I walked to her and laid her back down. "You need to lay down. I think you might have a concussion."

She groaned, but settled down. I straightened up and faced the girls, who had regrouped.

"This is all touching, but I think it's about time leave. Finish them off, girls," Hao said.

"Right!" they yelled. I could see them begin to build up their furyoku for their final attacks. Ashcroft and Jack grew nearly twice in size. Chuck grew too, but his head was bigger than anything else. It just looked like a long tube. The hairs on the back of my neck rose up as the amount of mana kept building.

"Now, Ashcroft, **Orb of Oblivion**!" Kanna yelled. A ball of black electricity began to build up around his spear before being unleashed at us.

"**Pumpkinator!**" Matilda cried. Jack's lower body begin to spin, creating a cyclone just like Maria's attack.

"**Rocket Head!**" Marion yelled. Chuck's head fired a giant ball of furyoku the size of a truck to me.

This triple attack was powerful enough to destroy us and pretty much a mall if I didn't do something quick to save us. I began to channel as much furyoku as I could into my kuani. I didn't bother to measure the safe amount, I just pumped as much as I could and as fast as I could.

_Be careful, _Kumo told me in mind.

I couldn't answer back. It took all my concentration to contain all of my furyoku into the blade so it didn't escape. At the last second before the girl's attack would hit us, I swung my blade.

"**SEIREI SHOUGEKIHA**!!" My wave met with theirs as the attack froze in mid-air. It took all of my strength and power to hold that attack. My muscles and mind screamed at the amount of pressure that was forced on me. I could feel my body being pushed back through the dirt as I tried to hold my ground.

After a few seconds of holding the attack, I felt their attack begin to falter. With a yell, I pumped more mana into my attack and finally overcame their attack, sending my attack and theirs right back to them. The explosion afterwards was enough to turn the dark sky to daylight. A great cloud of smoke and dirt covered them and us.

As soon as the attack was off me, I fell to one knee, using my sword to keep me propped up. The red aura around my sword had shrunk. Now, it was only enough to cover my small sword with a dim, red glow. If my enemy was still standing, I wouldn't last long if they wanted to continue.

It took a few minutes for the dirt cloud to die down. As it did, I could see three figures hunched over on the ground, panting heavily. The girl's spirits were laying on the ground. Not damaged, just out of furyoko.

A chuckle came through the cloud. Hao emerged from the cloud and smiled at me.

"Very, _very, _impressive. You're the first I've seen that has stood up to their triple attack and lived. You are truly an amazing shaman, Kasai."

I was still out of breath, so I didn't answer him. He continued to walk towards me until he was only a few feet away.

"I'm going to offer you a final opportunity to join our little group. Drop those two behind you and join me in our Shaman world. What do you think?"

I slowly climbed to feet. I took a deep breath and gave him my answer.

"I'll join you when hell freezes over, Hao." I then thrusted my sword towards his heart.

Like the last time, a wall of fire met my attack and flung me back. I hit the ground right next to my friends, the impact knocking the breath out of me. That was enough to break my spirit control.

"Master, are you ok?" Kumo asked. He was at my side the instant our connection broke.

"I'll live," I groaned.

I heard Hao sigh. "I gave you an easy way out, but you just spat my offer in my face. It's time you learned what happens to those who defy me."

And then, I saw Hao's guardian ghost for the first time as he materialized behind him. When he did, I immediately felt fear growing inside me.

Hao's ghost was twice as tall as the plateau we were camping next to. It was human-shaped and seemed to be glowing bright red. A pair of horns were around its head and its hands ended in claws.

But that wasn't what scared me. I could feel the power radiating from this monster. I realized then I was looking a kami-level spirit. The ones Jiji told me to avoid at all costs because of their infinite power. He also told me that kami spirits have their own reiyoku, or ghost powers.

"Behold, the Spirit of Fire. A god spirit. I think you and your friend's soul would be a delightful treat in feeding him, but I've got a better idea. Since you seem to keep losing people, I think I'll just use your spirits instead."

The Fire Spirit roared and swiped his claw to us. In one pass he picked up Kumo, Wyatt and Kaa. I felt my fear pick up as it held them above its head.

"Let them go, Hao!" I yelled.

Hao laughed. It was an evil one and chilled me to the bone. "No. I want you to experience loss one more time along with your friends. You see, my spirit can burn flesh, bone, and even...."

Our spirits screamed all at once as the Fire Spirit's hand was emblazed with fire. It was like they were screaming in pain. Their bodies, despite being spirits, were actually on fire.

...souls," Hao finished.

I looked on in shock as our spirits disappeared, not even ash remained. I could feel the fear and shock from my friends as they saw their partners burn into nothing.

We no longer felt tired as we jumped and charged Hao with nothing but our bare fists.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!" I yelled as tried to punch him in the face. His fire shield erupted around him. My hand entered through the fire, but still met with and invisible force. The shield threw me back into my friends. I crashed into them and we flew back into the dirt. My friends were immediately knocked unconscious while lingered for a little longer, exhaustion almost overtaking me.

"Fools," I heard Hao laugh. "Trying to take me on with no spirits to help you. Idiots."

As my vision began to fade, I saw him turn around and walk away. I heard him say one more thing before I slipped into the darkness.

"You've just learned what it's like to cross Hao Asakura."

That last thing that went through my mind was shock.

_Asakura..?_

* * *

Three levels of spirits.

Ghost-type spirits-These are normal types of ghosts. (Kumo, Amidamaru, Bason, etc.)

Seirei-type spirits-These are master level spirits with stronger supernatural abilities and powers. (Kaa, Kororo, Silver Wing)

Kami-type spirits-God level spirits that only a shaman with a furyoku level of 500,000 can control. (Spirit of Fire)


	5. Ash to Memories

Ch. 5

This chapter will be an entire flashback. It will start off where chapter 4's flashback ended and will end at Kasai's first shaman fight. Another flashback will come in another chapter later in the story.

* * *

(Flashback-5 months ago)

I watched as my guardians, the two people I cared about most in this world, disintegrate and scatter into the air. Not even bones remained.

My shouts of pain and anger caught the attention of this boy Nishi called Hao. He looked like an ordinary boy my age. Nothing unusual. But he turned his gaze to me, I could see the malice and insanity in is eyes. Eyes that seemed crazy, yet calm despite the inferno blazing around us. When he saw me, his smile grew.

"Ah...you must be the shaman whose power I felt this evening. I must admit, despite your inexperience, you hold a lot of power in you. Half of my followers don't have the amount of furyoku you poses. The other half you could probably take on one-on-one. Nishi did a great job training you."

I was still in shock by what I've just seen. Kumo materialized beside me and spoke what my brain was trying to make my mouth say. "Who are you doing here, monster? Master Nishi banished you from this house five years ago."

My brain finally snapped into reality as I turned to Kumo. "You know him?"

Kumo nodded. "This monster left here to gather followers for his Shaman only world. When Nishi found out, he told him to leave and never come back."

I turned back to the kid. "You're the child who stayed here before me?"

The kid had a mock pout on his face. "You mean Nishi-san and Kubai-san never told you about me? I hurt that they didn't tell you about boy you replaced in there happy family."

"They didn't know who you were and if they did, they would never had taken you in," Kumo said.

The boy laughed. "They didn't want to be the ones who raised the future Shaman King."

I exploded. "YOU KILLED THE PEOPLE WHO RAISED YOU? HOW HEARTLESS CAN YOU BE?"

"They are not shamans, so they cannot live in the world I'm going to create when I become Shaman King. Not even Nishi, who is a disgrace to shamans everywhere, will serve under the great Hao."

I could feel the anger building up inside me. That was one of the dangers Jiji taught me. Never let anger cloud my judgement when I'm fighting. I'll lose sight of what is important and will lose. But right now, I couldn't help it. This bastard killed my grandparents and right now, I wanted revenge.

"Kumo," I whispered as I pulled out my knife. The ninja nodded and flew into the kunai. I was emblazed with a crimson aura as soon as he merged with the knife. I didn't bother to control my furyoku as my anger guided my actions. My lack of control was making the building shake.

Hao nodded. "Impressive."

"Then you're really going to like this!" I charged forward, swinging my sword forward to cut him in half.

Hao's body was covered fired before my attack even reached him. The fire acted like a shield that my furyoku wasn't enough to penetrate. I was frozen in mid-air as I tried to force my attack through the barrier, but it wasn't enough. Hao chuckled through the flames. Then my body was thrown away from the shield and into the wall. The fire Hao started had begun the weaken the foundations and the walls surrounding the building. My body was shot through the wall and into the alley behind the building.

Stars were in my eyes when I hit the wall of the other building. Through my blurry eyes, I saw Hao's figure through the hole I made. It looked like there were several other people were standing behind him.

"Not bad, Kasai," Hao said through the flames. "Let this be a warning for you not to attack me again. But I'll make a proposition for you. If you pass the first round of the shaman tournament, I'll come find you again. Next time, I'll ask you to join our little group."

Two thought went through my head as I drifted in darkness.

_One: I didn't even see his guardian ghost._

_Two: How did he know my name?_

* * *

When I woke up, darkness had fallen. A pounding headache welcomed back to reality as I struggled my sore body back to my feet. It felt like I went through Jiji's Secret Strength Training with a ton strapped to my back. It took me a moment for eyes to adjust to the dark, but when they did, I wish they didn't.

My sofubo's shop had burned to the ground. Nothing, not even the wooden beam supports, had survived. Everything had turn to ash.

_My home...._

"Master, are you okay?" Kumo asked as he reappeared next to me. His expression was blank as he looked at me.

"What time is it?" I asked I picked up my bag that I packed that was still wrapped around my shoulders.

"It's nearly 8:00."

"Good. We only have an hour before the flight leaves for Tokyo. Let's get going," I said as I turned and walked out of the alley and into the street.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Kumo asked as he floated next me.

"I'm flying to Tokyo to compete in the Shaman tournament, remember? I want to get to a shrine first before we leave though."

Kumo floated in front of me and held his arms out as if he was trying to stop me. I just went right through him.

"Are you insane? Did you just see what he did to Master Nishi and Lady Kubai? He killed them without any effort. He stopped our attack with only fire and we didn't even see his guardian ghost. And you want to continue this journey after what had happened?"

"That's correct. There is nothing left for me here. The only thing I can do is continue with what I know. And that is to compete in the Shaman Tournament and merge with the King of Spirits. When I do that, I'll be able to talk to my parents, Hana, and Jiji and Kubai."

"It's suicide. With a shaman like Hao, you won't make it to the final round."

I growled and grabbed Kumo by his shirt, dragging him into another alley. I threw him into the dark. Sometimes it was god to have some control over spirits.

"I know it is. It's stupid to go against a power like Hao's!" I yelled. "But guess what? I don't have anything left! No family, no friends, and no home! This is the only thing I know right now because I don't care what happens to me! And not only that, I rather go down fighting Hao in the tournament than live in his shaman-only world! The earth and everyone in it needs someone to stand up to Hao and bring peace for another 500 years! AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF I CAN PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING!!"

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Now you've got two choices, Niiro Kumo. You can either join me on my quest and try to prevent this world disaster or you can stay here and continue your old pastime of haunting soldiers. If you do stay, I'll just go find another spirit to take your place."

Kumo froze for a moment, then glared right back. "Don't think of me as a coward. Master Nishi told me to be your guardian until the tournament was over. And that is what I plan to do."

I nodded. "Then let's go."

* * *

We stopped at a Shrine on the way to the airport. I lite some incense in the temple and sent a prayer to the Great Spirit to watch over my grandparents. It was all I could do for them at the moment and I swore I would honor their memory the correct way when I returned.

If I returned.

The next stop on our trip was the Naha Airport by the Naha Monorail. I never flown before so I was really looking forward to the experience. Growing up with Jiji and Kubai and living at the orphanage, I never really got to get out and see the city. It was amazing to see so many people around in one place. Even at an airport at 9:00 in the evening.

Everything went as planned. I handed my ticket up at the front desk, waited for my plane to board, then went on the aircraft. I don't know why Jiji complained about the delays at the airport because we took off right on schedule.

And the flight wasn't even that long either. Just two hours of munching on peanuts and I was in Tokyo, the capitol of Japan.

I got to admit, I was nervous. Tokyo was nearly three times the size of Naha. One wrong turn and it would take me all day to find out were I was. But luckily, since was eleven in the evening, the airport wasn't so busy. In fact, only about a hundred people were in the terminal when I arrived. But....the place was huge! I mean, HUGE! They could have played the District Baseball Championships here and still have room for a couple of malls.

Signs in so many languages were posted all around the terminal. Japanese, English, German, French, and Dutch posters were showing everyone were to go if they needed help finding what they needed.

But luckily for me, finding the right bus to my hotel would be a snap. There was one leaving in a few minutes and would stop only a few blocks away. I grabbed my bag from my feet and began to walk towards the door when I heard a voice call from the people I stood next too. Not in Japanese though, but English.

"Ok, this symbol means....uh...I have no clue," said a male's voice.

"Do you have any idea what your doing?" A girl asked.

"No clue."

I turned to the two teens looking at a bus route map. They were definitely Americans. Well, what Japanese think stereotypical Americans look-like. They were both wearing cowboy hats and looked they were dressed to go on a cattle drive that I've seen in American movies. They were also holding a English-Japanese translation book.

_I should probably help them_, I thought. _After all, I could speak English and no one else seems to be helping._

"Do you guys need some help," I asked, walking up to them.

They both looked at me. "Hell, yes," the boy said. "It's nice to see a fellow American."

I raised an eyebrow. _I look like an American? I guess I would because of my father._

I looked at them both. They were about my age and kind of looked alike. They must have been twins. The guy was a little taller than me with a scar running across his face. He was kind of scary-looking, but I held my ground. I looked at the girl and immediately felt my face heat up. She was beautiful with her dark eyes and long hair. And she had a body that I had never seen on a girl at my school.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a little flushed," the guy asked.

The girl smirked but didn't say anything. She winked and I felt my face heat up a little more.

"I'm okay. What can I help you two with?" I asked trying to get my face under control.

"We're trying to find the Funbari Hot Springs Inn. Our parents came here for their honeymoon once and stayed there."

"Ok, let me see what I can do. Do you have the address?" The guy nodded and handed me a notepad. I studied the map for a few minutes until I found the bus they needed to go on. It was real simple.

"You guys are in luck. I'm traveling on the same that will lead you to your destination. It's a few stops before mine."

"Really?" the girl asked.

"Yeah. Follow me." They grabbed their bags and I led them to the bus terminal outside of the airport. We found our bus and sat in the back as we waited for the other passengers to board. After five minutes we left.

"So where are you two from?" I asked.

"Texas, just outside of Austin," the girl said.

"And what brings you two to Tokyo?"

"We're are to fight in-OW!" the guy yelled. He turned to his sister, who had a scowl on her face.. "Oh, uh...just sight seeing."

"We always wanted to see where our parents spent their honeymoon," the girl said. A little too quickly too.

"What about school?" I asked.

"We're on break."

"What about you? Where you from?" the guy asked.

"Okinawa," I said simply.

"Wait a minute. I though you were an American like us."

I shook my head. "Only half. My father was American, but he married my mom who was Japanese."

"Wow. That's really cool," the guy said.

We talked about the usual crap for the next few minutes. School, friends, favorite movies. In no time at all, we arrived at the bus stop.

"Ok, here's what you need to do," I told them. "The inn you guys are looking for is just three blocks west of this stop. If you reach a street called 'Kame' you've gone too far."

"Thanks a lot, partner," the guy said. He held out his and I shook hit. Nearly broke all of my fingers though. When he let go, I held my hand out to the girl. She just smiled, leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. My reflection in the window told me my face turned five different shades of red. Her brother's mouth was hanging to the ground in disbelief.

"Thank you very much, cutie," she said sweetly.

I tried to answer but my nerves connecting my mouth to my brain seem to have been severed and I was speaking a language I didn't recognize. It must of sounded to them like I was speaking Japanese.

The girl turned around, grabbed her suitcase from the ground and walked towards the front of the bus. I tried very hard not the notice the sway in her hips, but, hey, I'm a guy. Her brother finally picked up his jaw and followed her out. He kind of glared at me for a moment and I thought he was going to beat the crap out of me, but continued to the exit. I could barely hear him ask her what the deal was about the kiss, but I heard her just chuckle.

The bus jerking in motion finally snapped me out of my daze. I fell back in my seat, touching where her lips met my cheek. That was pretty much the only I've talked to a girl who didn't see me as a freak and about ten minutes after I met her she does something like that.

_I didn't even know her name. How ironic is that._

"That was amusing," Kumo's voice said. He floated out of his memorial tablet in my pocket and appeared in his Hitodama form. His face had a smirk on it.

"Oh, you have a little mark."

I turned the window and checked my reflection. On my cheek was her lipstick mark. My face nearly turned the same color as her shade as I rubbed it out.

"Very funny," I muttered.

Kumo chuckled, then turned serious. "While you three were talking, did you feel their presence?"

I nodded and leaned back in my seat with a small grin. "Yeah. Not only are those two twins, they're shamans."

* * *

I arrived at my hotel around midnight. It was the Hilton Tokyo Bay. The size of the place made me wonder how much the Daimyo's tea set really was. The building had to be at least 30 stories tall. A valet stood outside despite the time, trimmed hedges surrounded the sidewalks, and the rooms on the eastside had a perfect view of Tokyo Bay.

My chest tightened up when I though about Jiji and Obaasan. They paid for this trip. They were suppose to be here with me.

I took a deep breath and walked into the lobby. It was very elegant, yet the only person there was behind the desk.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked me with a tired voice.

I nodded and handed her the key card. "Yes, can you tell me what room my grandfather reserved for me?"

She took the card, scanned it and waited for the results.

"Nishi Asakura, Kubai Asakura, and Kasai Sawyer. Room 432 on the twentieth floor." She glanced back to me. "I guess your Kasai. Where are your guardians?"

I stiffened. If they knew my sofubo's were dead, they probably won't let me stay here.

"They'll be here in the morning. They wanted me to see if the rooms were adequate for their tastes."

The receptionist seemed to accept that answer. "We will try to make your stay here as comfortable as possible." She handed me back my card.

"Arigatou," I said. I picked up my bag and went to the elevator, pressing the button for the 20th floor.

The doors opened after a few minutes and revealed a very classy hallway with crystal chandeliers and plush carpets. Calligraphy paintings were lined up along the walls. I took a moment to absorb all of this. I never seen these kinds of decorations before. Everything looked like it could break if I so much as looked at it wrong.

My room was the first one on the left as I exited the elevator. I took a deep breath and slid the key card into the slot. Inside was a small sitting room surrounded by paper walls. I walked in, took my boots off and slid open on of the walls. My breath caught in my throat as I gazed around at the splendor. The entire room was about the size of Jiji's shop and was spacious. It had three different kinds of couches, a dining table, a big screen TV, and all the basic appliances. There was also a small glass wall that lead to the balcony over Tokyo Bay.

There were three door inside the room. Two of them led to the bedrooms each with a king-size bed, a big window, a desk, and a small digital TV. The last room lead the bathroom that included a gigantic bathtub, a shower, and two sinks.

I walked back out to the living room and sat down on one of the couches. "So what do you think Kumo?"

Kumo flew out of my pocket and transformed into his full shape. "It will do."

I nodded. "Plenty of space. The flyer said there is a swimming pool and a weight room on the ground floor so I can always keep in shape. There are also a couple of restaurants so we can't go hungry. I wonder if they're free?"

"No," Kumo said. "The money they gave you is for your meals here. Not for you spend on pleasantries. Well, maybe a few."

I stared at him for a moment. "How do you know that?"

Kumo closed his eyes. "That's what they told me before..."

I felt my chest tighten. Images of what happened earlier flashed through my mind. The fire...the ash...Hao's laugh. My eyes began to water up as I bit back a sob.

Kumo changed back into his Hitodama form and floated to one of the bedrooms. "I'll leave you to your grief."

"But the ninja conduct says-" I started.

"That code is dead. It's okay to weep for your loved ones." He then floated through the door.

I got up and went outside on the balcony. The sounds of the city were giving me a slight calming effect. It was like the city was alive and breathing. The minutes passed by before I finally sat down on one of the chair and went through my backpack. I pulled out the envelope that Obaasan gave me. It had the currency and the iternary of my flight. But then I pulled out a another slip of paper I hadn't notice before. It was a photocopy of an American Newspaper.

_Tulsa Memorial Hospital is proud welcome Jacob Henry Sawyer into the world._

_He was born from Henry Riley Sawyer and Okanami Hitomi on October 10, 1989._

I always knew my parent's names, but I never knew they gave me an American name.

Why didn't they let me keep it? Then I pulled out another clipping. This time, it was a Japanese newspaper. They date was only a week after I was born.

_We regret to inform the world that a massive fire destroyed a hot springs hotel early last night. The fire left only one survivor: an infant. _

So this is how I ended up an orphan. My parent's perished in a fire. But it still didn't explain how I ended up in Okinawa instead of Tokyo or America. Then I found the last clipping.

_Due to a loss of records, the famous fire baby will be placed in a secure location away from the public. Authorities are hoping this will calm down the press about the argument of where the baby should belong._

I leaned back into my chair and stared at the sky.. So this is how I came to be. An orphan who lost his parents in a tragic incident. I wonder if my shamanic abilities let me survive the blaze while everyone else lost their lives. And after the accident, there was no one there waiting for me. Now, I was alone again.

_Will I ever find peace?_ I asked the heavens.

They seemed to give me their answer as a ball of light shot across the sky, making me job out of my seat. I followed it as continued on it's trek until it seemed to freeze in mid-air. Now it looked like a giant star amongst the other tiny ones. The light it gave off was almost as bright as the moon. It was almost like a miniature sun. And at that moment, I knew what it symbolized.

"That has to be it. The signal that Jiji told me about. The Shaman Tournament has begun." I muttered to myself.

And then I felt this whisper go through air. I didn't know where it came from, but it sounded like a deep and ancient voice go through the wind.

_They Destiny Star...Lago_.

"The Destiny Star, huh," I whispered.

_Jiji...Obaasan....you would have loved to see this._

And after hours of holding it in, I finally began to cry.

* * *

The next, the restaurant was in a buzz over the bright star in the sky last night. The news reports had reported that astronomers didn't know what it was. There were reports of it being space junk burning in our atmosphere, a comet, or it was a sign of the end of the world.

_They're almost right _I thought.

After breakfast, I went to go explore the city with Kumo. We were hoping to find a hint on what to do next about the tournament. We weren't exactly given a manual on the tournament rules or fights so we hoped we could find a shaman that would.

I kept my kunai with me at all times while searched. We didn't want to run into any trouble.

We searched for hours with not so much as a whisper between shamans. We ended up in the park before Kumo finally spoke.

"We're not making any progress, Master."

I nodded. "I'm beginning to think that we've been looked over. I mean, how do we even know that we qualify for the tournament."

"Master Nishi never did say. He was never told by his father."

The very mention of the Asakuras made me steam a little. The fact that they disowned a member of their family was a bad judge of character in my book. Family should be about accepting your relatives, not disowning them because of their faults.

"Maybe we should head back to the hotel for the day," Kumo said.

"Yeah, we're not going to find anything right now."

I turned around to head back when a voice called out.

"Sometimes the answer you are looking for is right in front of you."

My body went on the defensive as I spun around to the voice. The voice came from a man sitting on a bench near the jungle gym. He had dark brown hair that came to his jaw that was held together with a headband. He was wearing shades, a oversized Hawaiian shirt, black jeans and beach sandles. Beside him was an opened suitcase.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

The man chuckled and reached into his suitcase. He pulled out a bracelet that seemed to be made out of white stones.

"Quartz crystals. The perfect gift for that special girl in your life."

I frowned. "I don't have a girl right now, pal." My thoughts went to the girl on the bus and I grinned a little bit.

The vender raised an eyebrow, then put the bracelet back into his suitcase and pulled out a necklace. It had a small, eagle feather dangling from a leather band.

"Then how about this. A custom-made necklace that will protect you from the evil oni that dwell in these lands."

"No thanks," I said while pulling out my medallion. "I'm protected enough."

"Then maybe-"

"Look, not seem rude or anything, put I'm not interested in your products."

The vender just placed the item back into the suitcase and just smiled. "Maybe not, but I know for a fact that this will not be the last time we meet."

_Ooooookkaaaaayyyy_

"That's nice. I'm just going to leave now." I darted away as fast as I could and didn't stop until I reached Tokyo Tower. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath.

"Did you feel that?" Kumo asked from my pocket.

I took deep breath and straightened up. "Yeah. Something was off about him. Something....spiritual."

"He had a presence of command from him. One I haven't felt since my times in training."

I sat on a bench outside of the tower. "I think he may be right. We'll meet again. And I think it will be before the night is over."

We forgot about going to the hotel and just spent the rest of the day walking around the city. We didn't talk much, just mumbled about what we were going to do about tonight. Some how, the man we met was connected to what we were searching for. I couldn't explain it; just feel it.

As the sun began to set, we made our way back to the park. The were less people in the streets as shops were starting to close. And by the time we arrived at the park, the place was deserted. Well, except for one thing.

I turned to Kumo, who was in his full form. "He's here."

"Your shaman sense is more developed than I thought it would be," said a voice coming from the water fountain. Through the water, a figure rose from the shallow pool. The man was dressed in a white robe that had blue wave patterns on the bottom of it. He also had a head band that had a few eagle feathers around it.

"It's truly an honor to meet you, Kasai Sawyer."

I stiffened. "How do you know my name?"

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, which were the only visible thing on his face. "Please? The infamous 'Fire Child'? Trained by an Asakura? Your meeting with Hao? We know all and see all."

My blood ran cold as he said those things. Jiji and Obaasan were killed just last night, how did he know about? How did he know about the other things?

Kumo said what I was thinking. "How did you come by this information?"

The man chuckled. "My name is Oxy. I am a member of the Patch Tribe, a group of select few who have come to judge participants to see if they're worthy of the Shaman Tournament. If you are, you will receive this." He held up what seemed to be a large, white wrist band with two straps on the ends. Along the length of band seemed to be a screen or something.

"You've come to judge me? How?"

Oxy pulled off his robe. He was now wearing a pair of denim jeans with cowboy boots and a leather vest. The guy seemed to made out of solid muscle.

"I'm here to test your shamanic abilities to see if you have what it takes to compete in the tournament and earn the title of Shaman King. And from the looks of it, you don't seem like it."

I gritted my teeth but didn't say anything. Jiji and Kumo taught me how to channel my anger so it wouldn't cloud my judgement. I could tell this guy was only trying to mess with my head.

I pulled my kunai out of my pocket and pointed it at him. "So how does this work?"

He scowled, probably because his antics were not affecting me. "You and I will engage in combat. You have ten minutes to land one blow on me. If you succeed, you will receive the oracle bell," he explained, lifting the white wristband in his hands.

"One blow, huh? Sounds simple enough," I said.

Suddenly, out of the water splashed two more figures. But instead of a human, what seemed like a swordfish and a saw fish was now floating above Oxy's head.

"This gaki is really starting to get on my nerves, Oxy. I say we filet the kid and serve him to the sharks," said the swordfish.

"Calm down, Pokey. He's free to say anything he wants now because he'll be eating his words later."

I was struggling not to laugh. "That's your guardian ghost's name?"

A tick marked formed above the saw fish's head. "That's it. Nobody insults my friend like that."

"I agree, Sharpey" said Oxy as he pulled two daggers from his pockets. The two fishes swam through the air and merged with a separate dagger. A blinding white light surrounded my opponent and the two dagger had formed into swords. The swordfish had turned into what seemed like a giant fencing sword with a deadly tip. The saw fish had turned into a metal version of his snout except instead of teeth, the saw had tiny blades.

"Prepare yourself. Your time starts now!" he yelled as he charged forward with his blades. He crossed them across his chest and brought them forward in an 'X' slash.

"**Sea Strike!**" he called out. Two beams of blue aura charged towards me, kicking up dust and creating divots in the ground.

I leapt into the air to avoid the attacks. The blew beneath my feet and the shockwave behind them nearly knocked me out of the air.

"Whoa, this guy is serious," I said as I landed. Kumo materialized next to me in his hitodama form.

"He is using his Oversoul to engage us. We should probably due the same," he suggested.

I nodded and grabbed his form. "Right. Kumo spirit form and into the kunai!" I pushed him into the knife and once again, Kumo Heijin(Spider Sword Blade) formed in my hands, forming a small cyclone of mana around me. It took about eight seconds before I could gain control of my furyoku and calm down. Oxy brought his arms down from protecting his eyes after my integration. A look of shock was in his eyes.

"How can you have so much furyoku?" he asked.

I brought my blade into a guard position and smirked. "I though you could know all and see all. Wasn't a record of my furyoku in your databanks?"

Oxy shook his head the slightest. "We never had a record that you could perform an Oversoul. Only Spirit Unity with your body. When did you form your Oversoul?"

"Yesterday," I replied.

If Oxy's eyes could get any bigger, they just did.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, were we not in the middle of a battle?" I asked as I charged forward. I was in front of him in seconds with my sword coming over my head. Oxy brought his blades together to block my attack a second before I would have sliced into his shoulder.

Our blades were frozen in place, each of us trying to gain an upper hand. Finally, one his blades slipped, causing him to leap back to avoid my downward slash. When he gains his footing, he charged forward again, the swordfish weapon aimed to impale me. I sidestepped him, but he brought his saw sword towards my neck.

"_Duck,"_ Kumo said in my mind. I ducked just as his saw grazed over my head. A few hairs fell beside.

_That was close._

I spun around, bringing my sword up to slash him as he past. But he shimmered out of existence as my sword went through his afterimage.

"Where did he go?" I said. The park was deserted.

"_Calm down master. Let me find him."_

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting the wind brush over my body. I trusted Kumo to find Oxy's position. With his Oversoul, he could see in many directions at once with his eight eyes.

It took only a few seconds for my sword to react on its own and block a sword that was coming on my right. I opened my eyes to find Oxy with a look of disbelief on his face. It seemed that I blocked his attack with my eyes closed.

"But...how?" he stuttered.

"I can see all and know all," Kumo said from my hands.

Oxy's mouth dropped open. "Your Oversoul is at level two? Your ghost can communicate outside of it's form?"

"I guess so," I chuckled. "Now let's continue."

I pushed his blade away and aimed a roundhouse kick that caught almost caught him in the head. He leapt back about fifteen-feet away with a scowl on his face. I was close to landing that blow and almost winning the match.

"_You need to break his spirit control. Destroy his weapons. It's the only way to land a blow and win."_

"Right. Time to end this." I pulled a couple of shuriken from my pocket and threw at Kumo.

He just raised his swords across his body and blocked them with ease. "Is that all you got, gaki?" he muttered.

"No, you're just right where I want you." I pushed my furyoku into my blade, causing it to grow another foot. I didn't know how this was going to work, but instinct was telling me to do this.

I reared my sword back like a baseball bat and swung in an arc around me, releasing the furyoku I built up for this attack.

"**Seirei Shougekiha!** (Spirit Shockwave)" I yelled. A wave of red furyoko raced towards Oxy. He brought his swords forward to block the attack, but his arms shook at the power before the swords finally snapped. Pokey and Sharpey immediately disengaged from their weapons and the two daggers fell to the ground in pieces.

I was on him in an instant, bringing my sword down from over my head in a downward slash. Oxy saw my attack and raised his forearms over his head to block my attack. I just smirked, turned my sword around, and tapped him on the top of his head with the flat side of my blade.

"Got ya," I said. I held my hand out to him. Oxy stared at it for a moment, before smirking and grasping it. I pulled him to his feet as Kumo disengaged from my knife and shimmered beside me.

"That was impressive, Kasai-san," Oxy said. "You have the talents of a real shaman. And as I promised, here is your reward." He handed me the oracle bell. The instant I grabbed it, the color shimmered from white to red. The screen lit in a green-whit glow and 'Sawyer-Asakura Kasai' was printed on the screen. I looked up at Oxy in confusion.

"Why is the name 'Asakura' on here? That's Kubai and Nishi's name."

Oxy just shrugged as he grabbed his cloak. "I don't know. The Great Spirit is the one who put that on your oracle bell, not the Patch Tribe."

"Why would the Great Spirit give me Nishi's name?" I asked, leaning in for his answer. He took a moment before answering.

"The Great Spirit works in mysterious ways," he answered simply.

I fell over, then got back up. "That's it?!"

Oxy chuckled. "Are you saying you don't want his name? After all, did you not call him your grandfather?"

My face glanced at the screen once again. Jiji always said he loved having me around. Like having his own personal grandchild. Kubai said the same thing, but she said it with more love. And there were nights that I gave thanks to the Great Spirit for giving me two people that cared about me. Maybe this was a way of making me a member of their family.

"I accept it," I said to Oxy.

He nodded. "Now, the oracle bell qualifies you for the Shaman Tournament. Keep it with you at all times. It will send you information and rules about the tournament. Also, it will send you information about your opponents you will be facing."

"Opponents?"

"Yes, tomorrow will start the first round of the tournament. The oracle bell will send you the name of your opponent and the location of your fight. Be sure to be there at the time it gives you or you will be disqualified. And finally, you need at least win two out of three battles to advance to the next round of the tournament."

I nodded. It made since. I just had to be cautious and not injure myself in the meantime.

"That was rather impressive," a voice called out. We turned to see another man dressed in white robes that marked him a member of the Patch tribe. On his shoulder was a giant locust.

"Ha ha. You two got beat by that gaki," the locust said.

"Shut up!!" Pokey and Sharpey yelled from their memorial tablets.

"Nevertheless, that was an amazing battle," the figure said as he jumped down beside Oxy. "My name is Chrom. And after that match, I'm going to bet heavily on you to make it to the final rounds."

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. "Thanks."

Chrom smiled and turned to Oxy. "You should get moving. We've got a lot to do tonight."

Chrom jumped away into the distance. He seemed to almost fly through the air. Oxy and I watched until he disappeared. Then Oxy turned to me.

"I must be off," he said as he walked away. Then he stopped and turned around. "You beat me in five minutes. That qualifies you in a high-rank among shamans. I expect great things to come from you."

Pokey and Sharpey appeared in the air around Oxy. Each of them had a smile on their faces.

"Good luck, kid," Pokey said.

"I look forward to see you how you advance," Sharpey added.

A gust of wind kicked up and I shielded my gaze away until the wind died down. When I looked up, they were gone.

We went back to the hotel, both of us still a little buzzed about the evening. Me, I couldn't believe it. I actually qualified to compete in the Shaman Tournament. Kumo seemed excited as well as he zoomed around the room in his Hitodama form.

"Can you believe it? We actually passed!" I yelled.

Kumo stopped bouncing around and switched to his human form. He was smiling one his rare smiles.

"It's amazing, Kasai-sama. I know that Nishi and Kubai would be proud of you right now."

The mention of my grandparents brought my mode down. It's only been a day and I really missed them. The corners of my eyes began to get wet again.

"Kumo, do you think it was right for the Great spirit to give the me the name 'Asakura'?"

He nodded. "The love the three of you shared was deepest bonds of family that you had. Whether the name was given to you or not, they loved you like family."

I sat up and slowly walked out of the room. "Thanks Kumo," I said as walked to the balcony. Tears were falling freely from my face, dropping over the side of the railing.

I looked up at the sky. The Destiny Star had grown smaller than it was earlier, but it was still there. Looking at it, I could feel as it was guiding me through my trials.

_I swear I will make things right. Hao will pay for the crimes he had commited. When I become Shaman King, I swear I will bring the world to peace._

The star seemed shine bright for just a second before returning to normal. I swear it was listening to my thoughts and promises. It seemed almost like it was winking at me. That thought made me smile, but the thought was interrupted when I heard a beeping noise.

I raised my wrist up, gazing at the oracle bell's screen. I pressed the screen. A second later, a message was scrolled across the screen.

**Your first shaman fight of the first round has been selected. The fight will take place on October 18. The battle location is Minato District Cemetery. The battle will start at 8:00 PM.**

The fight was one week away from tonight. And the location shocked me. Minato Cemetery is where Jiji and Kumo found my weapon medium. I wondered if it was fate or coincidence.

**Your opponent is.....Tao Ren.**

* * *

I spent everyday that week preparing for my match. The oracle bell gave me a list of rules, just like the ones Oxy told me. I would have to win two out of three shaman fights to advance into the next round of the tournament. If I lost, I would be eliminated and would have to wait for the next tournament. In 500 years.

A match would be over when either shaman ran out of furyoku and wouldn't be able to defend himself. There was no killing allowed, but it warned me that accidents can happen. I should also watch out for stray shaman who didn't pass their tests and were looking for spare oracle bells.

Every morning, I would get up and work out in the gym. Because of my strength and the training I received from Jiji, the weights were really easy to use. I would usually gather crowds of people who wanted to see me bench-press twice as much as everybody else. People were asking me if I took steroids. After that, I would strap on the running weights Jiji gave me and run around the city. This way, I was able to memorize my surroundings so I wouldn't get lost.

In the afternoons, I would work on my spirit control with my Kumo Heijin. I needed to gain control over my furyoku because I would waste a lot of it during integration. But day by day, I would gain better control. Now, it only took a two seconds for Kumo to fully merge with my kunai. Not only that, I was able to create more attacks.

**Seirei Shougekiha**-This created a shockwave of red furyoku that would pretty much destroy anything in its path. The front of the wave was sharp enough to cut through steel and thin enough to go through a molecule.

**Mochi Su**(Sticky cobweb)- This would fire web from the tip of my sword and tangle up my opponents. The web was also harder than diamonds so it was nearly impossible to break.

**Kumo Kiritateru**(Spider slash)- This would send furyoku in a full three hundred and sixty degree circle around me. It would slow down a fast enemy long enough for me to strike.

Each day, I got better and stronger. But at nights, my mind would torture me to no end. Nightmares of what happened to Jiji and Obaasan would plague my dreams. Each time I saw my grandparent's disintegrate, I would hear Hao's laugh until I woke up in a cold sweat. Also, nightmares of what happened to my parents happened as well now that I knew what happened. to them. I would wake up several times in a single evening because my nightmares and it terrified me to go back to sleep. If I was lucky, I would get a total of four hours of sleep in a night.

Kumo would be right at my side, asking me if I was all right. I told him I was, but he never would believe me

Before I knew it, the18th arrived and I had just woken up after my fifth nightmare. I glanced at the clock that said it was 6:00 in the morning.

"I think we should skip training today. You need to save up what energy you have for tonight," Kumo said as he appeared next to me.

I nodded, too tired to say anything. Only a week of training with my O.S.(Over Soul) had prepared me for this day. I could only hope that it was enough to win.

The day seemed to go by real quickly. I don't know if was the day itself or just my nerves but before I knew it, it was already noon. Kumo though eating might help calm me down, but anything I ate was hard to swallow and tasted like cardboard. I gave up after only a few bites and spent the rest of the afternoon meditating. But my thoughts kept drifting to my match.

"Kasai-sama," Kumo said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "It's time."

I glanced at the clock once again. It said 5:00. I had leave now because the battle location was on the other side of the city. It would take me an hour to get there.

So I put on my new battle gear I got just yesterday at the mall. I was wearing a dark red long sleeve shirt with black, tribal flames decorating the arms and chest. My pants were black cargo pants with pockets for my kunai, shuriken and tablet stone. Black, leather combat boots were on my feet, fingerless paintball gloves covered my hands and a red headband was wrapped around my forehead.

Finally, I pulled on the battle coat that Obaasan made for my matches. It still fit like a glove and still smelled like the antique shop. That thought gave a pressure in my chest that made me want to quit right there. But I had to do this. For Jiji and Obaasan. For my parents. For Hana.

"Ready?" I asked Kumo.

"Ready and set," he replied, returning to his Hitodama form and flying into his tablet in my pocket. I took a deep breath and walked out the door.

My knees shook a little bit as I walked to the battle location. My hands were fidgeting a little as well. But luckily I was able to keep my cool and continue on. Nobody seemed to care that some weird kid was walking down the street in such bright clothes. I guess everyone thought I was going to a cosplay convention.

I arrived at the cemetery with time to spare. It didn't help settle my nerves though. I spent the rest of the time pacing pack in forth in the cemetery, listening to the soft whispers of the spirits the still dwelled here. I didn't know much about my tournament except his name and that he was from China. Any other information was probably illegal and unfair.

It was ten minutes till eight when I felt it. This chill that covered the cemetery and quieted the spirits. Also, the massive amount of dread and killer intent sent a chill done my spine. And I knew he was here.

There was a neighing of a horse and said creature came crashing down from the sky. A white stallion with a boy about my age standing on top of the saddle. The boy was wearing black jumpsuit with yellow string across his chest. He had on a high-collared cape and spiky, dark hair with on spike higher than the others. But what freaked me out the most was his eyes were actually yellow. They had the intensity of a hawk and the feeling of death and cold. In his hands was a weapon I've only seen in history books. It was a bo staff with a blade on the end. A Guandao.

He stared at me for a few moments before chuckling. "So you are my opponent. I'm surprised a worm like you can even see the Destiny Star much less pass your shaman test." What surprised me was not the fact he was a cold-hearted bastard, but that he had a British accent.

"What's up with accent? I thought you were from China," I asked, all fear gone only to be replaced by confusion.

A tick mark appeared in his forehead and his hair spike rose higher. "Who the bloody hell do you think you are?"

I couldn't help it. The way he was talking was just too much.

"I'm Sawyer Kasai," I said in an imitation of his voice. Then I suddenly busted out laughing. All of my nervousness just went away at this guy's limey voice.

"Grr! How dare you mock me?" Ren yelled. "I'll destroy you! Just like the official who tested me last night!"

That sobered me up. "You killed your shaman tester? What possessed you to do that?"

"He and his spirit were mocking me. Just like you are now!" he shouted back. "Him and his bug spirit."

_Bug spirit? Oh, my god! Chrom!_

"You killed Chrom!" I yelled. I pulled my kunai from my pocket. "You heartless bastard! How could you do something like that?"

"That fool deserved it," a voice said from nothing. Then, a spirit wearing gold and purple armor materialized from the Ren's tablet on his saddle. He seemed about twelve feet tall and had a deep voice. What freaked me out the most was his eyes. They were ones that seemed empty and emotionless. "He mocked my master's abilities. Chrom deserved what was coming to him."

Kumo appeared in his true form beside me, matching Ren's ghost. "What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies?"

"Because my time as Shaman King begins now," Ren said. "Chrom was only the first casualty of what is in store for this world."

Ren was obviously one of those who was bent on world domination that Jiji warned me about. I couldn't let that happen.

"We'll see who becomes Shaman King later. Right now, you've to get by me first," I said.

Ren smiled. "Gladly. Get ready Bason."

Bason, who I guess was his spirit, shifted his shape and appeared in his Hitodama form. It was a yellow spirit that looked like his battle helmet with eyes.

"Kumo," I said. Kumo nodded and switched to his Flame ball form as well. He floated into my hand just as my oracle bell started beeping.

I looked at the screen. It flashed **Get Ready** while beeping. I guess that was the signal that our match was about to begin. After a few more seconds, it ended with a longer beep that flashed **Begin**.

Ren wasted no time. "Bason! Into the Guandao!" He pushed his spirit into his spirit medium, causing a brilliant flash of light that was almost as bright as the sun. It took a moment for it to fade before revealing his Oversoul. It pretty much looked the same, except now a ball of Bason's armor seemed to be attached on the staff just below his blade. A yellow aura covered the weapon.

"Kumo! Into the kunai," I yelled, pushing him spirit into the kunai. In an instant, my Kumo Heijin was charged and ready to go.

Ren charged forward, bringing his weapon forward. "**Golden lighting strike!**" His Oversoul was now a blur as he rapidly jabbed his blade towards me.

It took all my agility to dodge them and block. There several close calls of that attack connecting that I swear I could almost feel the blade cut into my skin. I leapt back to avoid being chopped up, rebounded off a tree nearby, and charged forward to begin my counter attack. My speed gained me an upper hand as I swung my Oversoul from the ground, catching the middle of Ren's bo staff. His Oversoul remained intact but the force knocked him back several feet.

A look of shock was on his face as I charged my furyoku for an attack.

"**Seirei Shougekiha!**" I yelled as I swung my blade forward. The shockwave charged forward like a bull, but Ren was able to leap over. However, a piece of my attack caught him on his left leg. A shallow cut appeared on his shin as it slowly dripped a small amount of blood. He landed on right foot and kneeled down.

"How? You shouldn't have been able to dodge my attack nor should your attack have caught me," he asked angrily.

"Just luck," I replied.

"Don't give me that crock!" Ren yelled as he charged forward again.

But I noticed his speed had slowed down by a considerable amount. His attacks became easier to dodge and his swings were not as powerful as before. I was able to meet his attacks head on without the fear of getting myself injured. Before long, I was actually beginning to chuckle because I was actually enjoying the battle. Any fear I had was long gone.

Ren noticed this and roared while trying to increase his speed. But as he did, the yellow furyoku around his O.S. began to grow less and his guan-do began to shrink too.

"Stop laughing!" Ren yelled as he swung his blade over his head and onto my sword. My O.S. blocked it and pushed it away. I used the momentum to spring forward to nail him in the gut with my knee, then spin around for a roundhouse kick to his jaw. He flew a good distance away before landing with a crash on a tombstone.

It took a moment for him to get up and scowl at me. Then he roared as his furyoku rose around him and be pushed into his medium. The small ball of armor on it had shifted and grew until it became what looked like the top half of Bason's body. Except it was about twenty-feet tall. Ren was actually able to stand on Bason's shoulder so I knew it was solid.

"I will end this now!" he yelled. Bason charged and raised his right fist. It came crashing to down on my head. I was able to raise my sword in time to block it, but the force of the attack cause me sink into the ground a foot. Even though I blocked it, it still hurt.

Bason was about to raise his other fist, but I was able to leap away in time as it crashed into the hole I was in a half-second before.

_Whew. That was close. Kumo, how are we going to beat that?_

"_Calm down. Look. Tao is letting his anger take control his mind. He as pumped all of his mana into is Oversoul. If we can destroy it, he won't have enough mana left to continue."_

_Right._

"Give up," Ren said. "This is the ultimate form of my O.S.. You won't be able to defeat me now."

"Watch me," I said.

We both charged towards each other. My sword was in front to protect myself from a front attack. Bason raised his fist once again in a punch.

"Finish it, Bason. **Golden Punch!**" Ren yelled. Bason's fist came rushing to meet my sword head on.

"_Dodge left...now!"_ Kumo said in my mind.

I spun around to the left. The fist landed in the ground beside me, crushing my afterimage.

"Impossible!" Ren cried in disbelief.

"Well, believe it!" I yelled as I jabbed my sword forward into Bason's chest.

The blade sank into the red crystal that was in Bason's armor. There was a moment of silence before Ren's O.S. exploded. The blast caught the both of us and sent us reeling back. I was able to land on my feet and prepared myself in case Ren tried anything. However, he wasn't so lucky. He crashed into the ground, creating a foot-deep crater. He gradually tried to stand up.

"This is not possible. I'm an unbeatable," he said weakly. He was using his weapon to help him stand up.

"Your furyoku says otherwise," I pointed to his O.S. or what remained of it. His spirit medium had transformed back into its original state. The only thing that remained was a small haze of yellow furyoku that was flickering out of existence. After a few moments, it flickered once more before disappearing.

My oracle beeped. I raised my wrist to see that screen flash a new message.

**Winner**

I smiled and showed him my oracle bell. "And the Great Spirit and Shaman Council says I'm the winner."

A look of disbelief was on his face that slowly became anger. His hair spike became bigger until he roared in frustration.

"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!" he screamed as ran at me with only his weapon and no furyoku.

I disengage Kumo from the sword, intent on facing him weapon to weapon. I held my kunai in a reverse grip and braced my back foot to block his attack. My body wasn't even exhausted, so I was ready to fight. Ren was blinded by his anger and was foolish to believe he could he could actually still fight.

But before he even reached me, an ball of blue energy landed in front of Ren, creating a huge explosion that covered the area in dust and rock. Ren halted his attack and blocked his head from the debris. Then he fell to flat on his face when a pink rope tripped him. The rope then twisted through the air before returning to its owner.

Through the dust, two figures walked towards me. It took me a moment for me to see that they were the two kids I met at the airport the other day. The girl was dressed in a long-length, leather skirt and a pink shirt underneath a leather vest with tassels. She was rolling up what looked like a whip in her hands. The boy had on black jeans, a blue shirt underneath a black, leather vest and wore a long, dark trench coat. He was holding a old-fashioned six-shooter in his hands. Both had one their cowboy hats and matching grins.

"Well, I never expected this," the boy said to me. He came up and shook my hand. Then stared at Ren. "If you have a problem with my friend here, you can deal with me then."

"And me as well," the girl said while standing at my other side. Her arm brushed mine and I realized how close she was standing. She smirked when she saw me gazing at her.

Ren growled and stood back. "You may have won this time, but the next time we meet, whether in the tournament or in the street, I will kill you for the humiliation you have given me."

He then whistled and his stallion trotted over to him. Ren pulled himself into the saddle, then rode off into the night. I turned to my new friends when I couldn't hear the hoofbeats anymore.

"So what hap-" the girl started before I raised my hand to stop her.

"First things first." I held out my hand. "My name is Kasai Sawyer. But if you want, you can call me by my American name, Jacob."

"I'm Zach," the boy said, shaking my hand again.

"Maria," the girl said. She shook my hand as well. I felt my face heat up the last time I tried to shake her hand.

"Thanks for help," I told them. "That guy was really angry."

Zach snorted. "Please. We knew you could take him on your own. We just wanted to say 'thank-you' for helping us last week."

"Is it true what he said though? Did he really killed his shaman officiator?" Maria asked.

I nodded. "I believe so."

"How awful."

"Yeah," I said. Then I realized something. "Wait a minute. What are you two doing here anyway?"

Zach chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we sort of camping out here."

"What? What about the inn you guys were staying at?"

"It turns out that it burned down a few years ago and was rebuilt, but due to bad business, it closed down," Maria answered.

"Now it's rented to some hot-tempered babe and her boyfriend," Zach finished.

I looked around. "You're camping out....in a cemetery?"

"It's the best we can do."

I smiled as I had a thought. "Why don't you guys stay with me at my hotel room?"

"What?" Maria and Zach said at the same time.

"Yeah, sure. I have a lot a room, free services, and it's been paid for the next few months. I would be glad to have you guys there."

"Kasai-sama, are you sure this is a good idea?" Kumo suddenly said beside me. I almost forgot he was there.

"Sure," I said. "The more the merrier."

Maria suddenly ran up and hugged me. "Thank you. If I had to spend one more night with the ghosts here and eating Zach's cooking, I was about to go nuts."

"Hey," Zach cried, his pride scorned. "What's wrong with my cooking?"

I chuckled and pulled her away. "Oh, this is Niiro Kumo, my guardian ghost." Kumo bowed, but he didn't say anything.

"This is Kaa," Maria said. Her earrings, which looked like fangs, glowed pink and a giant python was wrapped around Maria's shoulders like a furwrap.

"A pleasssure," the snake hissed.

The air shimmered around Zach and a cowboy appeared next to him. Unlike Zach, this ghost looked like the real deal cowboy.

"And this is Wyatt. Wyatt Earp," Zach told me.

I felt my jaw drop. "The famous gun fighter?" I only heard about this guy in the American Western movies they used to show us in the orphanage. I didn't know he was real.

The cowboy chuckled. "That's right, son," he said.

"Well, this has been nice, but I really want to leave and actually sleep on a bed for once," Maria interrupted. She picked up her bag at her feet, then slipped her arm through mine.

"Uh...." I started, my brain trying to make my mouth say something. I could see Zach with a scowl on his face but he didn't say anything.

"Lead the way, sweetie," Maria whispered.

* * *

"Now this is the life," Zach said as he jumped on the couch and laid down. He kicked his boots off, leaving them on the floor.

Maria slapped him on the head. "You're a guest in Jacob's home! This isn't your room!"

Zach rubbed his head. "Sorry."

I laughed. "It's okay. Make yourselves comfortable."

"Thanks, Jake."

I smiled at the nickname. Then said, "Feel free to whatever's in the fridge and order anything you want on room service."

"Alright," Zach yelled as he jumped off the couch and ran to the fridge.

Maria rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry about my brother. He can be obnoxious sometimes."

I chuckled. "It's okay. It makes this room more livable."

"Are you here alone?" she asked.

My throat felt tight when she said that. The depression hit me again and I didn't feel like talking anymore.

"I'm going to bed," I suddenly said. Maria looked sad and surprised when I went walking to my room.

"Wait," she said. I turned around to see her. "I'm sorry if I said anything wrong."

"It's okay. My problems, not yours."

"If you ever want to talk, I'm here for you," she said. Then she leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Good night and thanks again."

I smiled and walked into my room. Maybe letting them stay here was a good idea after all.

"Again, Kasai-sama?" Kumo said.

I looked into the mirror over my dresser. Maria's lipstick mark was once again on my cheek. I rubbed it out with a sheepish smile.

"Good night, Kumo," I said as I got into bed.


	6. Continue On

Long Flashback is over. I'm now returning to the main story. Hope you like it.

* * *

Ch. 6

The first thing I noticed when I was brought back to the land of the living was the pain in my head. It felt like a ghost entered my brain and used it as a punching bag.

The second thing I felt was the burning sensation in my hand. It felt like my hand was on a skillet being cooked with oil. No matter how much I tried not to move it, my hand wouldn't stop burning.

Both of these pains now reminded my how I got them. I sat up, preparing to defend myself if Hao attacked again.

"Calm down, Jake," Maria said as she grabbed my shoulder.

I shook my head and looked around. It was now daylight, probably a little after nine in the morning. The weather still had a little chill from the cold, desert night but I could feel the heat from the sun and sand beginning to rise. But there was no sign of Hao or his followers.

Maria let go of my shoulder and sat back down. She didn't look too worse for wear. Her clothes were a bit crumbled and there were a few tears in her shirt and skirt. Her ears were cleaned of the blood I saw earlier. She didn't look tired or anything of the sort so I guess she recovered from the attack she got last night. But her eyes were red, like she had been crying.

I looked around and spotted Zach kneeling a few feet away, rolling up his sleeping bad. He looked worse than Maria, but looked like he recovered from his attack. A bandage wrap was around his chest underneath his vest. His clothes had several holes in them and there were burn marks on his hat and jeans. His eyes weren't red but he had this stoic look on his face.

I turned my gaze back to Maria. "Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "I'm alright. But...." she trailed off as she closed her eyes.

"I know," I whispered as I pulled her in for a hug.

Our guardian ghosts were gone, vanquished from Hao's flames. I don't know how his spirit was able to destroy souls and ghosts, but the evidence was right in front of my eyes. It felt like something inside of me had died. When Kumo and I first integrated, I felt like I had a connection to his spirit. But when he perished in the Spirit of Fire's inferno, it was like that connection was severed and piece of me was missing. I know Maria and Zach felt the same.

I held Maria for a few moments before a sting in my hand made me hiss and pull away. My eyes widened in shock at what I saw. My right hand was covered in bandages that were stained with blood. Whatever skin I could see was black and red with a few angry bubbles. I tried flexing my fingers, only to bit back a scream as pain erupted in my hand and through some of my arm.

_How could I be so stupid to punch a wall of fire?_

"Careful," Maria said as she gently took my hand in hers. "You suffered third-degree burns on your entire hand. This was all I could do right now, but you need to get to a hospital to prevent further infections."

"The next town is nearly fifty-miles away," Zach suddenly stated. He was packing what items he had taken out last night. "If we're fast, we could get there this afternoon. Our first priority is checking ourselves for injuries by someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing."

I nodded and reluctantly pulled my hand from Maria's. The gentleness she had was almost enough to make the pain go away.

We packed quickly and headed towards the highway. Even after the fight last night, we were able to travel just a little bit faster than normal people, making the trip seem quicker. But it would still take a while for us to reach our destination. It gave me plenty to think about though.

What were we going to do now? With our guardian ghosts destroyed, could we even compete in the Shaman tournament now? Even if we could, who were we going to find to replace the ones we had?

I took a quick gaze at Maria's stricken face. Kaa was her motivation and best friend. Sure, he was a snake. But he had warmth and compassion just like any friend. They both shared the same dreams of restoring the earth's energy, saving rainforests and oceans, cleaning the air, and even finding a way to save many endangered animal species. During the first round, they worked together like a well-oiled machine. With her brain and Kaa's speed, the two of them were like a hurricane of pink furyoku.

My eyes turned to Zach and saw his face set in a grim look. Just like Maria and Kaa, Zach and Wyatt were best friends. No, they were more like brothers. Both of them thought alike, talked alike and acted alike. They would always talk about how they were going to bring peace between spirits and humans. A big dream, but one they believed in. And when the two of them were fighting together, it was best to get out of their way instead of fighting them head on. I still wince when I think about our fight and the bruises he gave me.

_And Kumo...._

We didn't get along as much as most spirits and shamans do, but he was a friend just as well. He would encourage me to do my best and would always push me forward when I felt like giving up. Sometimes, I would only think he would stay with me because Jiji ordered him to. But I could see that he enjoyed hanging out with me as a guardian ghost and friend.

_But now he's gone. Kumo....Jiji....Obaasan....Hana.....Mom and Dad. Who else has to suffer because of me?_

We were halfway there when we took a break for lunch. Neither one of us said anything as we ate our rations. Maria would sniffle every now and then, but that was it. I think our grief was too much at the moment.

Our lunch break ended quickly and we were right back on the road. But I could feel last night's battle finally taking a toll on me. My body was slowing down, my muscles were aching, and the sting in my hand would throb in time with my heartbeats. I took a glimpse at my friends and saw that they were struggling too. If we kept slowing down, we wouldn't reach the city before nightfall.

So I did the next best thing. I stuck my thumb out and waited for a car to pass.

"Are you crazy?" Zach asked. "We are three teenagers who looked like we have had a rough night partying and got lost in the desert. If I was driving and I saw people like that, I would just keep on going."

"Besides, there hasn't been a single car in sight for hours," Maria added.

I ignored them and continued to trek on with my thumb out.

"I think the sun has fried his brain," I heard Zach whispered to his sister.

"Maybe we should get him into the shade," she whispered back.

"I'm fine, guys," I growled. "Just have a little faith."

"Faith!!??," Zach yelled. "We just watched our guardian ghosts get burned to a crisp, fought an kami-level ghost and his psycho shaman, and right now we're hiking in the desert at the hottest part of the day! How can you say have a little-"

A screech of tires cut his sentence short as a blue pickup truck was now parked right beside us.

I smiled to my friends. "See? Faith."

The window rolled down and a middle-age man stuck his head out. He had a ponytail and a pair of dark shades. His gazed at us for a minute before he said finally said something.

"You kids need a lift?"

I turned around to my friends. They both had a look of shook on their faces. I guess they couldn't believe something like this would happen.

"Sure," I said as I turned back around. "We could use a lift."

The guy jerked his thumb towards his truck. "Hop in."

I pulled put my pack into the back and began to climb in when Zach grabbed my shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing? For all we know, this guy could be a psychotic murderer who likes to pick up stragglers and leave their dead bodies in ditches after he's done having his way with them."

I turned to my friends and raised my bandaged hand. "Hey, we're tired, sore and we're not getting anywhere by walking. My hand feels like it's on fire and is probably infected. We don't know the extent of our injuries so it's best to get to a hospital as soon as we can."

"But-," Maria started before I cut her off.

"Look, I'll ride up front as a sign of good faith. If this guy tries anything, I'll hold him off while you guys make a run for it. Kumo may not be here with me, but I can still fight."

Not waiting for them to argue, I walked around the truck and got in on the passenger side. My friends stared at me through the back window. Then they shook their heads and climbed into the truck bed. When they got settled in, the driver pulled out of the ditch and onto the road.

The first few minutes of the trip was filled with silence from me and country music from the station. I tried to focus on the road ahead and ignore the pain in my hand.

"So where are you guys heading?" the driver asked.

"To the nearest hospital," I said, showing him my hand.

"What happened?"

"Campfire accident. I fell asleep too close to the fire and rolled my hand right into the embers," I lied.

"And your friends?"

"We tried to hurry down the mountain to catch the bus that was near our campsite, but all of us kinda tripped and rolled the way down. We missed the bus."

"Really?"

"Yep."_ I should get an award. That was a foolproof lie_.

The guy was silent for a moment before he shrugged. "Whatever. Oh, by the way, I just like to help people out, even if I look like a psychotic murderer."

I flinched. "You heard us, huh?"

"Yeah, but it's alright. The way you are looking out for your friends was very admirable." He turned to me and grinned. "Your friends are very lucky to have you on their journey."

_Journey? Shimatta (Damn), did he see through my lie?_

"I'm lucky to have them as well," I said. I settled back into my seat. "They're all I got left," I whispered.

* * *

We made to the hospital in good time. The driver pulled us into the emergency center and we were immediately looked over.

Zach had a couple of cracked ribs and had a severely bruised sternum from that blast attack. Given a few days rest, he will be ok. They just tapped his middle and sent him on his way.

Maria suffered a concussion, but the doctor's didn't find any permanent damage. She would only have a mild headache for about a week and may be a little bit unsteady.

I was the worse, however. Aside from a few cracked ribs, a partially healed tongue and sore muscles, my hand was damaged beyond repair. There was no infections, but there was severe nerve damage and I couldn't move my ring finger or pinkie. Even with therapy, my hand will never be the same. It will take years for my skin to return to normal.

The doctors seemed to buy the campfire story I told the driver. They told us to come back tomorrow to check to see if we were healing correctly. We paid for our bills and waved to the doctors on the way out.

When we were out, Zach turned to me.

"We're not coming back, right?"

I nodded. "We need to get moving as soon as we can."

"But what about your hand?" Maria asked me.

"Don't worry. I can fight with my left hand as well as my right. Kumo taught me how in case an injury like this would occur. 'A warrior must always be prepared' is what he use to tell me."

The sniffle from Maria told me I just opened up a gate of emotions that she had been keeping inside. She had tears in her eyes as she suddenly stopped right in the middle of a parking lot.

"I...still...can't...believe...," she sobbed as her body began to shake. I rushed forward and caught her before her knees gave away beneath her. Maria cried into her hands as I lowered her to the concrete.

"They're gone," she cried. She then glomped onto me and cried into my shoulder.

I shot an apologetic look to Zach, but he didn't make any move to separate us like he usually did. In fact, his face was pretty somber.

Maria cried on my shoulder for a few minutes. My shirt was pretty much soaked before she pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't worry about it," I reassured her. "That's what I'm here for."

Maria chuckled. "You're much more than that." (Imagine now one of those love scenes. The area gets hazy with pink fluffy clouds, the two lovebirds have blushes on their faces, and their eyes are sparkled)

"Ok, that's enough," Zach said as he stood between us. "We got figure what were going to do next."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Are you kidding me? Our ghosts are gone! We don't have any guardians to compete with in the tournament. And I don't know if I want to compete in a tournament with guys like Hao in it as well. I don't know about you two, but I'm ready to go home."

"You may have a point," Maria sighed. "Jake was able to beat those three girls by himself after fighting with one for several minutes. If he couldn't strike Hao with one attack at full power, then the tournament is out of our league."

I felt my soul begin to crack as they said those words. This tournament was supposed to be everyone's dream: To win and merge with the King of Spirits. To achieve their dreams that would seem impossible in the real world.

Now my friend were willing to throw those dreams away.

_I guess I can't blame. In fact, it would seem to be the best idea._

"What do you think, Jake?" Maria asked. "Do you think we should quit and go home?"

I sighed and looked at my friends. "First, I must apologize. When we first met, Hao told me he would try to find me once again if I passed the first round preliminaries and try to persuade me to join his little stable. I'm sorry you guys had to get mixed up in my battles."

"Don't say that," Maria said. "It wasn't your fault. Right, Zach?"

However, Zach didn't say anything at all. He just stared at me with this cold, glare that made him look a little demonic. But it must have been my imagination because it was gone the instant it appeared.

"Sure," he said. But he said it with unease.

"Second, I'm not ready to give. I made a promise to my grandparents that I would win the tournament for them. Jiji was labeled an outcast among shamans, so I'm fighting for his honor and to prove to the Asakura's that his training actually paid off. I'm also fighting to protect the world from power-hungry monsters like Hao who want to dominate the world with their sick ideas. I would rather die than become part of his world. And as long as there is still life in me, I will continue to fight."

"Jake..."Maria said. Her eyes began to glaze with tears once again.

"I don't know about you two, but I still intend to find Dobie Village before the month's up. If you guys want to go back home, I'll gladly give some of my money for a bus ticket back to Texas. I won't hold it against you guys if you won't to go home."

"Jake, are you sure..." Zach asked.

I adjusted my bag around my shoulders and turned around to head out.

"I'm sure. If I'm still alive when the tournaments over, I'll be sure to visit you guys. You two have been like a family to me. I'll never forget that. Good-bye you guys."

With that, I began walking out of the parking lot and back into the street. But I didn't go five steps before I felt a pair of hands wrap around my neck, immediately crushing my windpipe.

"You're not going anywhere without me, you idiot," Maria scorned as she hugged/choked me. "After what we've been through, I'll still stay with you, guardian ghost or not."

Zach walked up and put his hand on my shoulder. "Well if she's going to stick with you, I might as well tag along as well. Someone's got to keep you two in line."

"That's great," I choked. "Can...you..let go!"

Maria immediately released me just as I was seeing red spots in the air. I took a couple of deep breaths as my color returned. Maria smiled sheepishly at her mistake.

"Sorry about that," she giggled.

"Why?" I asked. "Your guardian ghosts are gone because of me. Hao singled me out and I didn't tell you about it. It's my fault."

A sharp pain erupted in the back of my head. I winced and rubbed the sore spot, realizing that both Maria and Zach hit me.

"Don't say that," Maria scolded. "Whether you warned us or not, Hao would have found us eventually."

"Yeah, it seems like he's trying to recruit every shaman that passed the first round," added Zach. "We just ended being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You guys...." I said, touched by their words. I thought for sure they would try to get away from me. Instead, they continued to stay by my side despite all that has happened.

"So where to now?" a voice called out, breaking us out of our moment. We spun around to find the driver we met earlier leaning against his truck and smoking a cigarette.

"What are you doing here?" Zach asked.

"I decided to stay and see if you kids were all right. All of you looked pretty banged up."

"Thanks," I said. "About what you said a second ago. Will you really give us a ride?"

"Sure. Just name the place."

I turned to my friends. They both nodded.

"West. Just west until we reach the next town."

The guy put out his cigarette and threw the butt into the back of the pickup. Then he walked forward and held out his hand.

"My name is Billy."

"Jake," I said, shaking his hand. "This is Maria and Zach."

"Hop back in, kids," he announced as he grabbed our bags. Maria and Zach climbed back into the bed of the truck while I hopped back in the front. Each of us sent a prayer of thanks to the Great Spirit for our new stroke of luck.

* * *

We traveled all through the night before we reached our destination. The twins were sleeping in the back. How they were able to I don't know. Especially with the truck bumping into a pothole every five minutes and the sound of whistling wind.

_They must be really exhausted_ I thought.

Meanwhile, Billy and I talked through the trip. He was a Vietnam veteran who sought the quiet refuge of the desert to try and help him deal with reality. Now, he was a delivery guy who helped stores around the area that couldn't afford to order their products from big league companies.

He really enjoyed his job and just loved to travel the roads. He says it's his destiny to find the legendary hitchhiker who wanders these parts and help him find his destination.

I spent most of the time listening to his stories. He asked me a couple of questions, which I answered within the best of my abilities without revealing what me and my friends were. I also tried to sleep, but once again, my nightmares would come back and force me awake. This would leave me more exhausted than ever.

But I was able to keep myself from screaming out loud whenever I woke up.

* * *

It was dawn by the time we reached the little town of Briar, Arizona. Billy pulled into main street from the highway and stopped in front of a diner.

"Well, here is your stop," he announced.

I got out of the pickup and woke up my friends.

"What's going on?" Maria yawned.

"Where here. You guys go get some breakfast while I talk to Billy."

My friends nodded and struggled to get out of the pickup. Despite getting a full night's sleep, they still looked tired.

I waited until my friends were inside before I turned to Billy.

"How much for the trip?" I asked while pulling out my wallet.

Billy waved his hand. "No charge. Just take good care of your friends and will call it even."

"Thanks a lot. You've really helped us out."

"No problem," Billy smiled. Then he cocked his head. "You know, for some odd reason, you remind me a lot of my grandfather. He was a soldier during WWII and he had the same look in his eyes that you had when I saw you walk out of the hospital. One that had seen a lot in his life, but still had the will to keep moving on."

I felt my body stiffen as he said those words. It was almost like he could read my mind.

"Take good care of yourself," he said and started his truck. "I'm sure you got a lot to do on your journey."

"Yep," I smiled. "Me and my friend got to save the world."

Billy laughed as he pulled away. "Good luck!" he called out. I watched his truck speed away and pull back onto the highway. After a moment, he disappeared into the rising sun.

I went inside the diner and found my friends sitting side by side in a booth near the door. A plate was full of bacon and eggs was in front of them and another one in the empty spot opposite of them.

I sat across from them and picked up my fork. "Thanks for ordering for me guys."

"No problem," Zach mumbled through a mouthful of eggs.

A clang interrupted our meal. I looked up to see Maria with her mouth open in shock.

"Jake, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes. Why?"

Maria grabbed the napkin dispenser next the wall and held the shiny side to my face. I nearly choked on my eggs when I saw the face staring back. My eyes had dark, purple shadows underneath them and pretty much matched the bruises that finally decided to show up on my cheeks from our fight the other day.

"Whoa. I didn't know how beat up I was," I muttered while prodding my cheeks.

"That's not what I'm talking about. You didn't get any sleep last night."

"Oh, well, no I didn't," I replied.

"Jake, you really need to see someone about this problem. If this continues, your health is going to deteriorate."

"I'm fine."

"But-"

"I'm fine," I growled.

Maria just shook her head. She knew she could never convince me to do anything when I was determined to say I was right.

"So what do we do now?" Zach asked, trying to break the tension.

I didn't say anything for a moment. It still amazed me that Zach and Maria still wanted to go on this journey with me. There powers relied withing their ghosts. Without them, they didn't have a chance against anybody.

"You two sure you still want to go with me?"

Zach rolled his eyes. "As well told you before, we're all in this together. Nothing you say or do will change our minds."

"All for one," Maria smiled.

I matched her smile. If they were still determined to stick with me, then maybe we still had a chance of making it to Dobie Village.

"We'll, I guess we just stick with the original plan."

"West?" Maria asked.

I nodded.

* * *

Well, that was the idea anyway. We kept continuing our trek across the state of Arizona for nearly three weeks. The hot sun didn't make things any easier, but by that time, our injuries had pretty much healed.

Except for my hand. It didn't hurt as much as it did before, but I still couldn't move my pinkie or ring fingers. This forced me to use my left more often than I used to, making things like eating and writing a little difficult.

Despite the heat and walking most of the way on foot, Maria and Zach never complained along the journey. They continued to stay with me, despite the hardships we faced along the way.

But we were running out of time. We had one more week left before the second round of the Shaman tournament began. If we didn't make it in time, we would be disqualified. So far, we hadn't seen or felt anything remotely spiritual that would point us in the right direction.

I was beginning to think that we were fighting a losing battle.

"Hey, look," Maria said, breaking me out of my trance. She was pointing towards a sign down the road

In big, bold letters, the sign indicated that we were only a mile away from the Grand Canyon.

"What's that?" I asked.

"You don't know about the Grand Canyon?" Zach asked shocked.

"I grew up in Okinawa. Covering natural landmarks in the United States was not a big subject in school," I snapped.

"Sorry, Jake," Maria apologized, glaring at her brother. "The Grand Canyon is one of the U.S.'s oldest landmarks. The Colorado river has been carving it for nearly 6 million years. It's almost 300 miles long with wide berths ranging from 4 to 18 miles wide. Some of the deepest parts of the canyon are nearly a mile in depth."

I blinked. "Wow. Thanks for the history lesson."

"How did you memorize all of that?" Zach asked.

"Hey, unlike you, I didn't fall asleep in class," she replied.

"Ouch," I chuckled.

"Shall we go?" Maria asked.

"Why not?" I shrugged.

"Wait! Aren't we on a time schedule?" Zach called out as me and Maria walked on. There was a few seconds of silence before a Zach came and joined us. "Oh, well."

We reached a building that was the entrance to the National Park and paid for our tickets. I thought it was stupid to pay money to see a national landmark, but when I saw the view, I didn't care.

The canyon seemed to stretch forever. Crevices and all kinds of jagged rims and drop-offs lined the canyon walls. But more than that, it felt looked like a jagged scar on the earth's surface. However, it wasn't one that looked like an injury, but more like a birthmark.

Maria walked up beside me. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Can you feel that?" she whispered.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as well. Then I felt it as well. There was something spiritual about this place. With the wind blowing through the canyon, I swore I could hear voices from all around the world speaking as one. Young and old, male and female, each saying the same thing.

Hope...

I smiled and turned back to Maria. She was looking at me with this smile that made my heart flutter.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah, gorgeous," I replied, not taking my eyes off her.

Maria giggled and light punched my arm, a small blush appearing on her face. "You're a baka, you know that?"

I laughed. "I know. Believe it."

"If you guys are done staring at each other, can we go?" Zach interrupted.

I groaned and turned toward him. "Can't you just enjoy the view?"

"If you hadn't notice, we're behind schedule. We need to find Dobie village."

Maria sighed. "I'm beginning to think that will never find it."

"Don't say that," I said. "We'll find Dobie Village. Just have a little faith."

"Okay, you got lucky last time you said that, but there is no way that can-"

I held my hand out for him to stop and turned towards the canyon. There was some kind of disturbance in the air. Not only that, I swore I could feel a small detection of mana.

"What is it?" Maria asked.

"I don't know. There's something going-"

Then we all felt it at the same time. A sudden surge of furyoku and a small shockwave from an explosion. Normal people most likely couldn't feel it but our shaman powers let us detect it.

"A Shaman fight," Zach muttered.

"Right. Let's find them," I said as I jumped over the railing, skidding down the hill on my feet just like I was surfing. Maria and Zach jumped after me despite the tourists outcries for us to stop.

Lucky for us, our superhuman strength and furyoku let us do things that seemed impossible to normal people.

* * *

We followed the disturbances until nightfall, running and leaping along side the Colorado River. The fight had stopped but there were strange furyoku readings that were blowing through the canyon. They felt ancient and powerful.

Then, around midnight, there was a sudden release of mana that forced us to stop in our tracks and brace ourselves against the fury. I could detect six different kinds of mana, each one more powerful than mine.

When the surge finally died down, Zach lowered his arms.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that was some serious furyoku," I replied.

"Let's camp here for the night," Maria suggested. "I don't want to run into whoever was releasing that surge."

We slept through the night, grateful that nothing bothered us. I tried once again to sleep, but was only able to get four hours before my nightmares woke me up. Unable to get back to drift off, I got out of the tent and sat in front of the fire, waiting for my friends to get up.

Maria was the first. She climbed out and spotted me sitting by the fire. Then she sighed and sat down on the log right next to me.

"Another rough night," she said as she leaned into my shoulder.

"Same as usual," I replied. "Hao's laugh and fire rocked me to sleep."

"Quit saying that. You need help. If this keeps up, you won't have the energy to compete."

"We may not have to worry about the tournament if we run into shaman who had that furyoku last night," Zach muttered as he crawled out his tent. "Did you feel that? It wasn't has powerful as Hao's but more powerful than yours Jake."

"I noticed."

"And there were six of them, as well," Maria added. "If were not careful, we could get our butts handed to us."

We could, but I felt something that the twins probably didn't. There was no malice in that surge of furyoku. In fact, five of the individuals felt like their souls had been once tainted, but had now been cleansed. The last one was pretty much the purest mana I had ever felt.

There was one thing that bothered me, though. Two of the souls felt very familiar.

"Let's get moving," Zach said as he packed the tents. "It's too late to head back."

"Right. Let's keep moving forward, heading west."

"Through the canyon?" Maria asked. I nodded. "But what if we run into those shaman?"

"Don't worry. We'll be okay."

"And how the hell do you know that?" Zach scoffed.

"I know. Just have a little faith."

Zach groaned. "I hate it when you say that."

* * *

We traveled through the canyon all morning. There was no sign of any of the shaman we felt yesterday, but I didn't really care about that. The majestic view was all that was on my mind. The breathtaking beauty and the smell of clean air was enough to make me want to live here for the rest of my life.

That is, until the same surge of furyoku hit us again.

"Another shaman fight," I muttered. "It's close."

"Should we run?" Maria asked.

"No," I replied. "Let's see who it is."

"Are you crazy!?" Zach yelled. "Can't you feel that power?"

"Yeah, I can," I smiled.

"What are you smiling about?"

"That power we're feeling is a three-on-three fight. One team is three of the six different furyokus we felt last night. Right now, they're winning against the other three."

"You haven't answered my question," Zach said.

I began to run further into the canyon. "The other three are those girls we faced on our first day."

Maria's eyes widened. "You mean Hao's followers."

"Yep. And right now, they're getting the crap kicked out of them."

We followed the furyoku surges until we came to a branch in the canyon. Both led the fights, but the left one would take us in the middle. This way, we could sneak a peak at who the mystery team was.

As the canyon narrowed, the power increased. We followed until the passage gave to a wide berth nearly a mile in width. There, we saw the teams and the end of the fight.

Hao's team of girls were on their knees. Their guardian ghosts and mediums laid in pieces in front of them.

Then we got a look at the other team and my jaw dropped open. Three giant guardian ghosts filled the canyon passage. One was an eight-headed dragon that seemed to me merged with a purple platform with two wheels and turbine exhaust pipes. It reminded me of the Orochi dragon from my mythology class. And on one of its heads perched a man with a huge pompadour and carried a wooden sword.

The next ghost seemed was one that I recognized. It was a giant version of Bason with metallic armor and a booster rockets mounted on its back. And sure enough, Tao Ren was perched on his shoulder with a smug look on his face.

"That jerk," I muttered. Then I turned my attention on the last shaman.

The giant guardian ghost just looked like a samurai with two swords in his hand. He had armor covering his shins and forearms and had long hair that seemed to a violet tinge to it. Below him was his shaman.

The boy looked to be my age. He had two weapons in his hands; one was a katana, the other looked like a long, red dagger. His hair was dark and long, held together by what looked like headphones. He had this smile on his face that made him look laid back and goofy.

But there was this distinct feeling that I had seem him before.

Behind them was another group of people that I wouldn't have noticed unless they started cheering. There was a boy with blue, another that was dark-skinned and had an afro, a tall girl wearing a dress, a man in a battle suit and had scars, another man with creepy eyes and a big hat with a woman in a pink dress holding his hand, a small boy, and a girl with blond hair and an icy stare.

"Hah, you think you have won?" Matilda yelled.

"Just turn around," Kahnna smirked.

The group turned around and gasped. We followed their gaze. Maria and Zach gasped as well while I growled when I recognized the man behind them.

"Hao."

The group instantly went on their guard. Hao walked between the group and towards the boy with headphones. He whispered something in his ear, causing the headphones kid's eyes to widen in shock. Than Hao walked to the girls.

"Wait, what did you say," the headphone boy cried out.

"We'll meet again soon...my brother," Hao said.

The entire group gasped along with me and the twins.

_This guy has a brother?_

Flames began to circle Hao and his followers. They disappeared, but not before Hao looked in my direction. He smirked and waved, then vanished.

I turned back to the group, where a man dressed in white with a bird mask confirmed that Hao and the boy called Yoh were indeed brothers, much to everyone's shock.

"Funny. They don't seem like brothers," Zach muttered.

"Shh."

The man, who was Yoh's father, told everyone the story about how Hao discovered a way to reincarnate himself every 500 years, just in time for the Shaman tournament. This time, Hao had reincarnated himself into the womb of Yoh's mother. Yohmei, Yoh's grandfather, had no choice but to kill both infants when they were born so they could stop Hao's terror for another 500 years. However, Hao was able to escape with the Spirit of Fire the moment he was born. Yoh was born next and was spared so he could train and defeat his brother in the tournament.

"And that my son is the story of your birth and your legacy," finished Yoh's father.

The group then began to talk amongst themselves. Zach and Maria turned to me.

"What do you think?" Maria asked.

Hao was definitely evil. I could feel it leaking off his form. The sooner he was stopped, the better.

But his twin, Yoh, I didn't know what to think. At first glance, the boy didn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. He gave off this aura that told me that he was lazy and goofy, but kind-hearted and sincere.

He may have been Hao's twin, but the two boys were exact opposites.

"I think I need to have a little talk with Yoh."

"Why?" Zach asked.

"He may be able to help us."

"Can we trust him though?"

I don't know. We had run into a lot of shaman that were determined to kill us. Also, it was very risky to trust someone you were most likely going to have to fight in the future.

Finally, if Hao and Yoh were brothers, it meant I would be asking help from the Asakuras.


	7. Family

Ch. 7

We left the group to deal with their squabbles on whether Yoh was evil or not. I knew he wasn't, but I didn't want to get involved with the group right now. I needed to talk to Yoh alone, away from his father and the scary girl who turned out to be his fiancé. Besides, I think Ren would attack me the first moment he got. True, I noticed earlier his furyoku was now pure, but he probably wouldn't forgive me for the humiliation I gave him.

After an afternoon's travel, we came to the end of the canyon which opened up to the desert. In the distance was a small, mining town. It had that creepy ghost town look, but the lights in the windows said that businesses there were still working. Even from a distance, I could see that the town was filled to capacity.

It would be the perfect place to rest and see if I could talk to Yoh.

As we made are way into town, I could instantly feel a change in the air. The tension was thick with anticipation and we were met with cold stares. The feeling that this was a kind and friendly community was blasted from my mind.

Maria tugged on my arm. "Jake, look." She pointed at a group of six people eating on an outdoor table.

They seemed to be normal until I noticed that each of them were carrying an oracle bell. Then when I checked around, it seemed like everyone in town was wearing one.

"Everyone here is a shaman," Zach whispered to us.

I nodded and continued walking while taking off my own oracle bell. "Hide your bells guys. We don't want to get challenged by any hot-headed shamans when we don't have any guardian ghosts."

The twins nodded and hide their bells as well. "Although, we might get challenged for not showing our bells in the first place," Zach added.

"Then let's find a place to hide until we can leave at nightfall," Maria suggested.

"Good idea," I agreed.

"How about there?" Maria pointed to a restaurant that had a sign in the window. It said that their rooms available in the upstairs loft. Those rooms would give us a good view of the town.

"Perfect," I chirped. We walked in through the door. A bell rung from above our heads, catching the attention of the only man of the first floor, who was standing behind a bar counter. The first floor looked like on of those old-fashioned saloons, complete with a piano in the corner and poker tables.

The bartender walked up. "What do you kids want," he growled.

"The sign said you had a room for rent?" I asked politely.

"Sure. Two hundred a night," he offered.

"That's a little steep. We only need it for one night. How about one hundred?"

The man shook his head. "Two hundred is what I offer to shamans. Take it or leave it."

I was about to say something when I felt the slightest nudge from Maria. At the corner of my eye, I saw her wink and step forward.

"Shamans? What are those?" she asked.

The man scoffed. "Please. For the past month, that's all I gotten in this town. Some mystical people who claim they could see ghosts and use their powers for some upcoming tournament. That's all I've been hearing these days. That and all of the fights they've been causing around town."

"But we're not shaman," I said, catching one to Maria's plan.

"Oh, yeah? What about those...."the man trailed off as he looked at our wrists. "Huh. You don't have one of those wristbands."

"What?" Zach asked innocently.

"Those colorful wrist....you know, those beepers," the man stated.

"No," all three of us answered.

"Well, I guess that's good enough. All right, you kids can have one room for 100 if you keep it down."

I smiled and handed him our money. "We promise we won't get into trouble."

The man stuffed the bills into his pocket. "Your room is upstairs, first door on the right."

"Thanks," Maria said. She grabbed her bag and led the way upstairs to our room.

The top landing had six other doors. Our room had the number one painted on the door. I opened it up to a small, clean flat that had only two twin beds. There was a dresser against the wall with a mirror attached. A door in the corner lead to a small bathroom that had only a small shower stall and a toilet. No sink.

Finally, there was a window on the opposite wall that had a great view of the streets. Below us, shamans were bustling around stores and hotels.

Zack tossed his bag on the floor and jumped on one of the beds. "It's small, but it will do."

Maria nodded and laid down on the other bed. "We'll be gone by the time everyone's asleep. Judging by the majority of shamans in this town, I'd say we're pretty close to Dobie Village."

"So let's get some rest. We leave at midnight," I announced as I jumped onto the dresser and leaned against the wall.

Zach raised an eyebrow. "You're going to sleep there?"

"I'm still awake," I shrugged. "I'll crash on the floor later."

Zach just rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude." He turned away from the window and was asleep withing minutes. His snores filled the room and sounded like a thunderstorm.

Maria, however, just stared at me while I looked out the window. It took me a few minutes to realize that when I caught her worried expression in the window's reflection.

"Is something wrong," I asked.

She just sat up and patted the spot beside her. I jumped off the dresser and sat down on her bed.

"You weren't really serious about sleeping on the floor, were you?" she whispered.

I shook my head. "To be honest, I wasn't even thinking about sleeping."

"Jake, you can't keep doing this to yourself."

"It's not like I have a choice, do I? I've tried all kinds of sleeping aids when we were in Tokyo, but nothing worked. I would go see a doctor about this but we're kinda on a tight schedule here."

Maria then had a blush on her cheeks as she said, "Well, there was one thing we haven't tried."

"What?"

"Well, we could...sleep together," she said as she nervously knotted her hands.

I felt my face heat up. "Uhh....wha?"

"I don't mean like that!" Maria said quickly as her blush equaled mine. "I mean...you know...maybe all you need is someone close to you, to comfort you. Like a teddy bear."

I smiled and took her hand. "I appreciate the offer, but that I kind of toss and turn when I sleep. I might accidently hit injure you. Besides, that bed looks like it was meant for one."

_And I with the way my hormones are whenever I'm around you, I might do something that will probably end with you shoving my kunai up my ass _I thought. _Or being hanged with your whip._

Maria nodded. "Ok. Maybe next time."

I chuckled nervously and sat up as Maria got under the bed sheets. She kicked her boots off and laid her straw hat beside her bed before snuggling into her pillow.

"See you when I wake up," she whispered as she yawned. She looked really cute when she did that.

"Good night, Hime" I whispered back, remembering the nickname Jiji used for Obasaan. Then, in a bold move, I leaned over and kissed her forehead. Something I never done to any girl before.

She giggled and blushed the way I use to when she kissed me. Then she rolled over and was soon asleep.

I walked back to the dresser and sat down, watching the streets below. From this point of view, I was hoping to catch Yoh and his friends. If they continued on with their trek, they would end up right in this town.

But I slowly began to drift off as the minutes pass. Soon, I drifted off completely with Maria's cute blush imprinted on my head before I was completely unconscious.

* * *

BOOM

The slight shaking of the room jolted me from my nap. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the window. The sky was dark and there was just a slight red tint in the west. In the streets, shaman were all heading in the same direction.

I looked over at my friends and saw that they were stilly asleep. How the were able to sleep through that, I'll never know. It must run in there family.

Wondering what the commotion was about, I opened the window and crawled onto the roof. I took a running start, pushed my muscles and furyoku, and began leaping across the rooftops. It's times like these shaman powers and the training JiJi gave me really paid off. And in no time, I arrived at what seemed to be a Shaman Fight.

It was a three-on-three battle. On one team was a group of men who were dressed in suits and had an Egyptian theme to their fighting style. They seemed to be trapped by some sort of prism barrier from the other team. The prison was held by what looked like a giant, blue weasel.

The other team consisted of a boy with green hair, a tall man wearing glasses, and what looked like a young girl with purple hair and body armor. My senses shot through the air when I felt the power and furyoku that the girl was radiating off her form.

This is one girl I do not want to mess with when angry I thought.

The two males stood by while the girl strolled underneath the men in suits. Her eyes seemed to be filled with unfathomable sadness.

"I will give you one more chance. Repent your ways of evil and turned to the light. If you continue, I will have no choice but to have Shamash destroy you."

Shamash, I'm guessing the weasel, began to raise a small axe into the air. I felt the power coming from that ghost as well. It almost seem to rival with Zeke's Spirit of Fire. Another Kami-class guardian.

"Never," one of the prisoners said. "Nothing you say will change our ways."

The girl closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Then I am sorry," she announced. She then turned and went back into what looked a suit of armor filled with green vines.

The moment the doors closed, the axe came down. The three shaman were obliterated from existence. Their bodies disappeared, but their blood was splattered all over the ground along with their weapons.

I groaned and turned away. Those kinds of executions were ones I hoped to never see. I knew somewhere down the line in this tournament I was eventually going to witness one, but hoped to Kami it wouldn't be this gory.

The remaining team said a few words to the crowd, then turned and walked back into the canyon. The crowd dispersed and headed back into town. However, one group still remained, staring at the retreating Shaman team. It was Yoh and his team.

The looks on their faces were pretty solemn. Everyone looked depressed at what just happened. It made me wonder if they had something to do with what just happened. After a few minutes of standing there, they headed back into town.

"Just who are you guys?" I asked out loud. Then I turned and headed back to my friends.

* * *

It was a few hours later, when the sun finally set, that my friends finally stirred from their nap. I've been up since the fight and couldn't go back to sleep.

"Hey," Maria yawned as she stretched her arms up. "Did you get any sleep?"

"A little," I murmured, trying not to stare at her body while she stretched.

"Did anything interesting happen while we were asleep?" Zach asked while he pulled his boots back on.

"There may be another killer shaman team out there," I sighed.

The twins froze. "What? Are you serious?"

I nodded. "I don't know their names or recognized their guardian ghosts. However, I do know that one of the may be a kami-level spirit."

"Great. Another one," Zach snapped and punched the wall, leaving a small dent. "Are we ever going to catch a break?"

"I don't know," I said. It's always crap like this that made me wonder if the Great Spirit has a sick sense of humor.

"What now?" Maria asked.

"I say we take a risk and ask one of the shamans if they know where Dobie village is. We've only got a week left until the second round starts. It's time for desperate measures."

"Like that's actually going to work," Zach scoffed.

"It's our only chance," I countered.

Zach sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It was several moments before he spoke again. "Let me guess. You want to talk to Yoh."

I nodded. "I think he's the one to talk too. I believe he can help us."

"But he is Hao's brother. How can you trust him?"

"I know I can. The only thing Hao and Yoh have in common is they share the same blood. Other than that, they are total opposites."

_And besides, if the Great Spirit said so, he's my family has well._

Maria nodded. "I agree. We saw Yoh fight against Hao's minions. If that's proof he's on the side of good, what else is there?"

"Fine," Zach muttered as he put on his stetson and vest. "So where do we find this guy?"

I shrugged. I lost track of Yoh and his crew after the battle with that team in white robes. They could be anywhere in the town or probably have already left.

Or....

"Is that them outside?" I asked. Through the window, I could see what looked like the eight-headed dragon we saw earlier in the canyon. The spirit guardian whose shaman was the guy with the pompadour.

"There's a shaman fight outside and we didn't even know about it?" Maria asked.

"Let's go check it out," I said.

We raced downstairs, through the lobby(the bartender yelled out something about 'damn shaman fighting outside his bar'), and into the street. On one side of the street was the dragon oversoul with the chariot and exhaust pipes. The pompadour man stood on one of the middle heads, staring calmly at his opponents who were on the ground trying to catch their breath. This team consisted of two men and one woman, all of them wearing winter coats.

"What the hell is that?" Zach asked, looking up at the dragon.

"Yamata no Orochi," I answered. "An ancient dragon that lived on the Mount Fuji. Rumored to have been taken down by the water god, Susanoo."

"You mean to tell me that guy has a kami-class guardian ghost on his side?"

I shook my head. "It's not a true guardian ghost, mearly just an image. A mirage. A ghost of a ghost. That man's real guardian ghost is there." I pointed at the man whose torso seemed to be merged with the chariot. He was man with green scales and two swords. "That's his guardian ghost."

The power that oversoul was giving was amazing. It took a strong shaman to wield that much furyoku and the pompadour man was controlling it with ease. It made me wonder just how powerful Yoh and his friends were.

"We're not finished yet," yelled the leader of the beaten group. He used his staff to help him stand up.

"Pino, let's stop," the girl said.

"No. We're not leaving until we face Yoh."

At that moment, Yoh Asakura walked in between the Dragon Charitot's wheels and stopped in front of the opposing team. In one hand, he had a regular samurai sword. In the other he held a small, red dagger that seemed to made out of stone.

"Alright," Yoh said with a smile. "I'll fight you."

The pompadour man canceled his Oversoul and landed behind Yoh. He turned a man with insomniac eyes that stood in front of the rest of Yoh's friends and said, "Come on Faust. Let's back him up."

"No, it's okay Ryu," Yoh said. "Pino, I'll only fight if we make this an official shaman fight. If we win, you have to go home."

Pino smirked. "You got it. **Ultimate Ice Storm**!" He thrust his spear staff forward and sent a wave of freezing air and icicles at Yoh, who just continued to smile and took the attack.

"Is he crazy? That attack isn't directed at us and I can feel it," Zach shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "It feels below zero and I can only imagine what it feels like to Asakura."

"Looks like nothing to him," I said. Yoh continued to smile as the cold air from the attack finally stopped. Pino and his teammates had a look of shock on their faces. I'm guessing that nobody had stood to their attacks before. I wondered how Yoh did it though.

"My turn," Yoh smirked. Behind him, his guardian ghost appeared. It was a same samurai I saw earlier, except human size.

"Amidamaru," Yoh shouted. "Into the sword." He pushed the samurai's spirit into the sword, transforming it into a white ball of furyoku with samurai armor around the sword. "Now, into the anitquity." He then pushed the stone dagger into the already formed Oversoul. The second the two forms met, a flash of white light blinded everyone watching the battle. When it settled down, Yoh was holding a five-story sword with ease.

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!" Zach screamed in disbelief. "How can he have a medium that big?"

"A double medium," I whispered. I've only heard about it once from Jiji. He only mentioned because you needed a ton of furyoku and strong ghost, one feat he believed was impossible for me.

From an Asakura, though, I expected no less.

"Wow, it's even bigger than last time," Yoh chuckled as he held the sword in front of him. "All right Amidamaru, let's finish this with one attack."

"Then we will do the same! Let's go guys," Pino yelled while jumping into the air. The woman summoned a giant ball of water using what looked like a frog spirit. Pino then froze it with his staff. Finally, the giant used his furyoku to punch the ice, creating a giant hailstorm aimed at Yoh.

Meanwhile, Yoh just smiled and reared his sword back for a swing. I though for sure he was going to be crushed when he swung the sword at the last possible moment. The blade crushed the ice and knocked his opponents out of the air. The second the ice team slammed into the ground, their spirits were disengaged from their mediums. They were deafeated.

Yoh sighed and disengaged his double medium. "It's over Pino." Then Yoh surprised everyone watching. He walked up to Pino, who was still on the ground, and offered his hand. "Friends?"

Pino just stared at Yoh with his jaw dropped. I couldn't believed it either. How could two individuals who fought so hard to beat each other senseless just settle their differences with a handshake? Just the anger from Pino himself was felt by everyone during the fight.

Then, Pino grinned and took Yoh's hand. "Friends," he nodded. Yoh chuckled and pulled Pino off the ground. Everyone who witnessed the fight began clapping, showing respect to both teams who fought so valiantly against each other. Yoh's group and Pino's group joined together and gave congratulations to each on a well-fought battle.

We watched them until they went inside a restaurant together. Then Zach turned to me.

"That was unbelievable. He's almost as powerful as his brother," Zach whispered to us.

Maria nodded. "He's strong, that's for sure. Do you really think he can help us out, Jake?"

"I know he can," I assured her. "You two go back to the hotel and get our packs. Meet me on the west side of town."

"What are you going to do?" Maria asked.

"I'm going to have a little family talk," I replied.

* * *

It was 45 minutes before Yoh and his group finally left the restaurant. I was waiting outside the door, putting on my Oracle Bell when he walked out. All of them seemed to be joking about how much Yoh and Ryu ate at dinner while the blond girl at Yoh's side was smacking him on the head.

"Yoh Asakura?" I called out when he passed me. His friends immediately turned around and drew the mediums in preparation for a fight. I'm guessing they've been attacked too much and were jumpy these days.

Then Ren's face turned red from shock and anger. "You!" he growled.

"You know this guy?" Yoh asked perplexed.

"This bloody bastard made me look like a fool during my first shaman fight," he yelled while pointing his quan do at me.

I smiled. "You know, no matter how many time I here it, your accent always gives me a laugh."

Ren's hair spike rose a foot. "Why you....you..."

Everyone chuckled at my joke. "Aw, does Ren have a problem with this guy?" Ryu asked. He was now dressed in what looked like a 70's disco outfit than the battle outfit he wore earlier.

"Ren's just mad because I mopped the floor with him in our first round battle," I told everyone.

"I'll kill you!" Ren yelled as he charged forward. He then jumped up into the air and swung his weapon over his head.

I pulled my kunai out and blocked the attack. Our blades met, each of us pushing against the other.

"I just want to talk. Is that ok?" I said quietly. "I'm not looking for a fight."

"Ren, let him go," Yoh said. "If he just wants to talk, I think that will be fine."

Ren scoffed and pulled his weapon back. He walked back to the group while Yoh walked forward, holding out his hand. I shook it and he smiled.

"I'm guessing you know who I am, but who are you?"

I bit my lip. "Can we talk in private?"

Yoh was silent for a moment before grinning and turning to his friends. "I'll be right back." His friends protested, but Yoh held out his hand. "I'll be fine."

We walked about half a block away before I believed we could not be overheard. Well, except for one other person.

"Amidamaru, can you keep a secret?" I asked to the space above Yoh's head. A second later, Amidamaru came into my vision.

"I believe I can, just as long as it doesn't hurt Master Yoh," he said.

I nodded. "Fair enough. As for my name, my American one is Jacob Sawyer." I raised my wrist and pressed a button on my Oracle bell. "But my Japanese name given to me by the Great Spirit is Kasai Sawyer-Asakura," I finished, showing him the name on the small video screen.

Yoh and Amidamaru's jaws dropped to the floor. They pretty much stayed that way for a full thirty seconds before Yoh picked his back up. He stared at me for a few moments, mainly gazing at my hair.

"You and I have the same hair color. Did my dad forget to tell me that instead of having twins, my mom had triplets?"

I blinked before laughing out loud. "No, no. I'm not your brother. I'm more like your cousin."

"Really? How?"

"My parent's died while they were in Japan just a few days after I was born. I grew up in an orphanage for my entire life. But one day, I met a man named Niishi Asakura, a man born into a shaman family with no shamanic abilities. One whose family disowned him."

Yoh winced. "I'm sorry. That sounds like something my great-grandfather would do, though. My grandpa said he was a very stubborn fool."

I nodded. "Well, Niishi and his wife gave me shelter one night and I paid them back by working in their shop. They eventually became my adoptive grandparents in my eyes. However, Niishi discovered that I had shamanic abilities when I spotted a ghost who lived there. So, ever since I was twelve, Niishi pretty much trained me to become a shaman for this tournament."

"That's really an amazing tale," Amidamaru said. "Where is your grandfather now?"

I swallowed. "On the day we were supposed to leave for Tokyo, Hao came one evening and killed both of my grandparents. He said he detected my spirit energies and gave me the choice to join his followers for his shaman-only world. I turned him down."

Yoh shook his head. "Another reason for me to stop Hao. He's caused too much pain in this world."

"It gets worse. Remember that plane we took to get here? The day we landed, Hao came and once again tried to persuade me to join his followers. When me and my friends refused, he used the Spirit of Fire to destroy our guardian ghosts."

"What?" Yoh gasped. "His guardian ghost can destroy souls?"

"Apparently so."

Yoh sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "This is more of a problem than I though it was going to be. Not only to we have to protect ourselves, we have to protect our ghosts. So what are you going to do?"

"I still plan on competing in the second round of the Shaman Tournament, regardless if I don't have a guardian ghost. Hao's reign of evil needs to be stopped before more people suffer his wrath."

"Spoken like a true Asakura," Yoh chuckled. "At least your not bent on simple revenge like the X-Laws."

"Who?"

"A group who exists only to destroy Hao and his followers. They are lead by a girl named the Iron Maiden Jeanne."

"You mean those guys in white robes? The ones who control Shamash?"

Yoh nodded. "Yeah that's them."

I groaned. "As if one group of insane shamans wasn't enough."

Yoh chuckled. "You're funny, dude. I like that. Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. We have one week before the shaman tournament starts, right? How about a race?"

"A race?"

"Yeah. If you and your friends get to Dobie Village before me and mine do, I'll help you with your problem. I'll have my fiancé summon you three new guardian ghosts."

I gaped. "She can do that?"

"Yeah, it's her specialty. I'm sure she'll be able to help you and your friends."

"Thanks," I said happily. I shook his hand once more. "I'll try to help you in your quest to destroy Hao's evil to the best of my abilities."

Yoh chuckled. "Thanks, cuz. I really appreciate it."

I smiled at my new family member before turning away. "I'll meet you at Dobie Village."

"Not if we get there first," Yoh retorted.

I was only a few meters away before I realized I missed something. "Wait," I called out. "What do you want if you win?"

Even from a distance, I could see his grin. "You've got to buy me all the cheeseburgers I can eat."

I laughed at his request. I can't believe he can be so relaxed about that. _Oh, well...he's family after all. Jiji used to be that carefree._

* * *

My friends were waiting for me outside of town. Maria handed me my pack when I joined them.

"So what's the scoop?"

"If we can get to Dobie Village before they do, Yoh said he'll give us new guardian ghosts."

"He can do that?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, so let's get a move on," I said. We adjusted our packs and started to head west.

"Wait!" a voice called. I turned around to see the small kid I saw earlier today running towards us. He stopped in front of us, heaved over and trying to catch his breath.

"Your Yoh's friend, right?" I asked.

"Yes. Yoh wanted me to give you directions to Dobie Village before you three headed out," he huffed.

"They know where the Village is?" Zach gaped.

"Yep. We got the directions from a few ghosts who previously attended the tournament." He handed me a piece of paper.

"Thanks..uh," I started.

"Manta." He then bowed his head a little bit. "Yoh told me what happened to your family. While he didn't go into details, he told me to give you guys our directions. He said he wanted to give you a fighting chance."

Thanks, Manta," I said and reached out and shook his hand. He returned it with a vigor. "I hope I see you their at the tournament."

"Good luck," Manta called out as we continued on our journey.

* * *

Sorry for the late update. College has been a little hectic lately. Oh, a reminder. This story was meant to be a crossover with another. So watch out in the future.

Please read and review.


	8. The Black Dusk

Ch. 8

_To get to Dobie Village, go west through the Red River Canyon. Then make your way through the Black Dusk (no idea what that is). Finally, you need to make your way through the Blue Cave(or this)_

_Good luck, Kasai. I'll see you in the second round._

_Yoh._

"These directions are more confusing than a two-headed snake. I have no idea what they mean," Zach exasperated. He kicked a rock out of his path as he paced in a circle. "Your cousin is just as loony as his brother."

"Hey. I trust him. He wouldn't lead his friends astray like that. You saw the way his group was loyal to him," I countered.

Zach stopped pacing and got right in my face. "Jake, you just met the guy yesterday and talked for only five minutes. He is one of the most powerful shamans in this tournament, he can form a double medium, and his brother his Hao. I don't know about you, but that's enough reason to be suspicious of the guy." He turned on his heel and walked several meters away into the desert. He sat on boulder, fuming with his canteen.

I sighed and uncapped my own canteen. It had been three days since we left the town. Three days of wandering the desert, hoping to find something that resembled a black 'dusk'. Everyday, Zach would get crankier and lash out at both me and Maria. I was getting fed up with his attitude.

Maria handled the situation better, but I was beginning to sense her doubt as well. She had become silent whenever I would defend Yoh, but would not back up her twin either. I couldn't tell what her true feeling were.

I wiped my mouth and put my canteen in the bag. To be honest, I was starting to be skeptical too, but only a little bit. What worried me was that Yoh and his friends were given the wrong directions from those ghosts. From what I've seen, people will do anything to get to Dobie Village. Even if it meant deceiving your competition. But why would ghosts give the wrong information.

"You think the directions they were given might have been wrong?" Maria asked suspiciously. It shocked me that she said exactly what I was thinking.

"I'm beginning to think so. But then again, we don't know how far it is to Dobie Village from the town. It's obvious that the canyons we passed were the Red River canyons," I said, remembering the red rock and slightly dark brown river.

"But it was the Grand Canyon we passed through."

"True, but we don't know the canyon was called 1,500 years ago." I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't know how much more of this we can take. It's hot, it's sandy, and Zach is about ready to blow his top."

Maria sadly nodded. "The stress is getting to us all." But she then took my uninjured hand and smiled. "But that's not going to get us down, is it?"

I grinned. She always knew what to say to get me right back on track. "Not a chance." I then motioned to Zach. "But what about him."

"He always get's anxious and cranky when things don't go his way. He's been that since we were five. I guess it's my parent's fault. They kind of spoiled us when we were kids."

"How?"

"You know, the usually. Whenever Zach had to have something, our parents gave it to him. Horses, ATV's, guns, game systems, tree houses, toys. I guess you could call him a spoiled prince."

"How can a cowboy be a spoiled prince? Don't you guys live out in the country?" I asked.

"Our family owns a few oil platforms in South Texas. Trust me, we could afford stuff like that. We own about a five thousand acres at our house. It includes a lake, a good few acres of forest, and few practice golf course holes. That last one was Dad's idea."

I snickered. "Are you a spoiled princess as well?"

"Don't you mean a spoiled hime?" She grinned back. But then it faded. "I guess you could say I was once, but that changed about eight years ago." She sat down on a boulder.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting down beside her.

"My parents promised us once that we would go on camping trip before our summer vacation would be over. However, on the day we were supposed to leave, they had to cancel so they could leave for a business because someone found an open oil well. I was so ticked off that I just packed a backpack, my horse, and just went off on my own into our giant backyard."

She rubbed her face with her hands. "I thought I was experienced enough to take care of myself. But being taught how to survive in the wilderness relies on experience, not just what your dad and uncle show you in your room. That night, I couldn't get a fire going, I couldn't catch anything on my fishing poles or traps, and a thunderstorm was coming in."

I noticed her shoulders began to shake a little. So I put my arm on her back and touched her arm. "Then what happen?"

She raised her head and I saw a few tears leak down her cheeks. "I decided to return back to the house when I could see lightning in the distance. So I packed everything up and was on my way just as it began to rain. To save time, I took a short cut through a ravine. I though it be okay, but then, lightning struck about a quarter of a mile away, sending a sonic boom through the through the rocks. The sound caused my horse to rear up and stumble over some loose rocks. It was enough to send us falling thirty-feet into the ravine."

"Both of my legs were broken from the fall. My horse, Georgia, was impaled by several dead trees. She was sill alive for a few minutes, but the sounds of her dying still haunt my dreams."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered while squeezing her shoulder.

"Thanks," she sniffed. "After a few hours, the pain was beginning to make me black out. But the pain of losing Georgia was worse than my broken legs. It made me want to die. It was my fault and that I deserved no less punishment . But then, I heard a voice bringing me back. When I opened my eyes, I could see the faint image of Georgia hovering above me."

"She became an animal spirit?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah. Somehow, what little shaman power I had brought her back. She was actually talking to me. She told me that it wasn't my fault that she died and that I shouldn't blame myself. Then, she said she was going to get help."

"Sure enough, an hour later, Zach was there with a rescue crew. They were able to get me out of the ravine before a flash flood could wash me away. The next day, I asked how Zach found me. He said I wouldn't believe him and I asked him to try me. He was silent for a few minutes before he admitted that a ghost horse led him to me. It was at that moment we learned we were shamans."

"And that's where you met your teacher. The Native American?"

"Yep. Good old Charlie. After my legs had healed, we went searching for answers about who we were. Our search led us to a cemetery, where we learned how to communicate with spirits. The caretaker, Charlie, spotted us talking to the ghosts. It took him a while to get over his shock, but he eventually believed us. He then explained what we were and how to control our shamanic powers. We owe everything to him."

I shook my head. "Wow. That's an amazing tale."

Maria nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yeah, but you still have it worse than me."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. Losing your parents in a fire, your grandparents to a pyromaniac. I'm surprised that you're still sane."

"I've learned that dwelling on the past does nothing for your future," I said. "They only thing I can do is continue and see that pyromanic's reign of terror is ended."

Maria smiled and squeezed my hand. "Then let's get going." She sat up and walked over to Zach. When she was close enough, she kicked him in the back. He tumbled into the dirt.

"Ow. What the hell was that for?" he asked.

"We don't have time to rest, you lazy bum! We've got a village to find!" Maria said.

"Why?" he snapped.

"Because you're not in it. Every village needs an idiot," his twin joked. She then picked him up by the scruff of his neck and began to drag him west. "Now, come on. Chop-chop!"

I laughed because I could hear Zach swearing from were I was. It was also hilarious to see a six-foot kid being towed around by his smaller sister.

I wonder if all siblings are like that.

* * *

We covered a good chunk of land before we decided to make camp for the evening. The area was dry and dusty, but we set up a fire right next to a plateau to block the wind. There was also a ravine a couple hundred meters away.

"Another night underneath the stars, another arachnid in my sleeping bag," Zach grumbled as he shook his bag. "Why do I always attract bugs?"

"Must be your cologne," Maria chuckled.

"Ha, ha. Stop, my sides hurt," Zach snarled. "You never had to wake up with a scorpion in your pants." He set his bag down and stalked off. "I'm going for a walk."

I turned to Maria with a raise eyebrow. She just shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he ran out of his beef jerky," she suggested.

I sat up and brushed the sand off my legs. "I'm going to go talk to him."

"Be careful," Maria warned. "There's all kinds of desert creatures out here that could give you a nasty bite."

Stretching my senses, I could 'see' Zach heading toward the ravine. I followed him for a few minutes before I could see his outline in the light of the setting sun He was sitting on the edge of the ravine, legs dangling over edge. His eyes were watching the cloud's shadows drift through the canyon.

I sat down beside him and watched the shadows with for a few, silent minutes. It was a moment that Zach seemed to be at a loss for words. As long as we known each other, I've never seen him this withdrawn from everybody. Usually he's the life of the party and the one who inspires us to never quit. And yet, he seemed like a broken man. Ever since he lost his guardian ghost.

It was more than I could take. "You want to tell me what's really going on?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I just feel like giving up. It's like we're fighting the current while trying swim upstream. The more we try, the more tired we get. Eventually, we're to exhausted to continue."

"I just don't get it. During the first round, you're the one that was always cheering me and Maria one. It was you that told us quitters never win and that if only believe in ourselves, we could accomplish anything," I said. "How could you have changed so much."

"Isn't it obvious?" he snapped. "What good are we going to be in the Shaman tournament without guardian ghosts? Sure, Yoh promised us he would help us we get to Dobie Village, but how do we know that his fiancé his going to help. Don't you remember her? She didn't seem like a girl who would help out any group of shamans?"

"I trust Yoh and Anna to help us out."

"That's the kind of the thinking that's going to get you killed!" Zach yelled. "You can't trust anyone in this tournament. There can only be one Shaman King."

"The three of us made a promise to do our best fulfill the dreams of all honest shaman," I pointed out. "If either Maria or I become Shaman King, we'll honor your wish to bring peace between spirits and ghosts. Or did you forget that?"

"That's not what I mean! I'm talking about everyone else doing everything they can to eliminate the competition. At some point, we're going to run into a very power shaman who could think it would be just easier to destroy instead of following the rules. Just like Hao."

"I always though you weren't afraid of a challenge."

Then I saw something on Zach's face I never though I would see. It was expressing fear.

"I wasn't. A few months ago, I would have taken on the entire competition with a smile on my face and Wyatt on my arm. But now...after watching what Hao is capable of..."

"Yeah," I muttered. The thought of dying was always a possibility and it was one I wasn't afraid of. But when Hao destroyed our guardian ghosts, it frightened us. Because with his power, he could erase our existence. We wouldn't be able to pass on to the next life.

Just....gone.

"But we can't give up. If we do, Hao will destroy the world and everyone we love," I said.

"Don't you think that I know that? I just afraid of losing her..." he trailed off. I noticed him gaze back at the fire for an instant.

"Are you talking about her accident at the ravine near your house? The one when you guys were seven?"

I saw his shocked expression, but then he nodded. "Yeah, that's it." He didn't bother asking me how I knew.

"The thought of losing her haunts me more than anything. Even more than losing this tournament. I never realized how much she meant to me until that night when the ghost of her horse came to me and told me she was in trouble," he sighed. He pressed rubbed his face with both of his hand. "The police and rescue team always thought it was suspicious that I led them right to her without having any idea where she was. But as long as she was safe, they didn't press the issue."

"I'm pretty sure it would be hard to explain to the authorities you talked to animal spirit," I tried to joke. It was enough to make Zach grin a little.

"Yeah. News straight from the horse's mouth."

That caused both of us to crack up laughing. And for several minutes, we didn't stop.

I was the first to stop. "Don't worry about Maria. Nothing is going to happen to her."

Zach stopped chuckling and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "What was that?"

I sat back on my hands and stared at the sky. "Even though we've known each other for less than few months, I consider you the closest thing I have to a brother. And I consider Maria a...uh..."

"A sister, right?" Zach growled.

"Right...somewhat of a sister," I chuckled nervously. _With the way she winks at me when Zach's not looking makes me believe that she doesn't like me as a brother._

"What I mean is you two are the closest thing I have to a real family. We have stood by and supported each other in the darkest times. I will protect the two of you with my life. That is a promise."

Zach turned to me with a bewildered expression. "You mean that?"

I turned back to him and grinned. "Believe it."

"I do," Zach chuckled. For the first time in nearly a month, I saw a genuine smile on his face. He sat up and reached out his hand. "Let's head back and get some dinner."

"There's the Zach I remember," I sniggered as I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up. "Always thinking with his stomach."

He laughed and cuffed on the shoulder before heading back. I stayed behind to watch the sunset for a few moments. Just the last tip of the sphere of gas was hovering on the horizon. Then, with almost a small pop, it disappeared.

My pupils grew to adjust to the new darkness of the land. But after a few minutes of staring, all I could still see is darkness.

"What the..." I mumbled as I gazed around the area. I still could see the glowing light of our campfire, but the area surrounding us was pitch black. I couldn't see the outlines of any of the plateau's or the mountain range in the distances. Even with the full moon above us, the moonlight wasn't casting any shadows.

I ran back to the campfire. My friends were silently sitting down and were staring at the flames.

"I guess you noticed too?" Maria whispered. Her body was frozen, but her eyes were darting back and forth over the land.

"Yeah. The sun has just set," Zach mumbled. "And what's before sunset?"

"Dusk," I whispered. "This is the Black Dusk."

We were silent for a few minutes, just gazing at the area around us. I could feel a presence in the air, but it wasn't threatening. It was more like we were being watched. Not by a creepy stalker or anything. It was more like a teacher or doctor was studying us. Observing.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Maria whispered.

"I don't think we're in danger," I answered. "But we should still be cautious."

"What do we do?" Zach asked.

"I'll stay up for a while to see if something happens. You two rest up. If anything happens, you will be refreshed enough to escape."

I cringed as Maria's furious stare came my way. "You will not stay up all night. I'll take the first watch. You two get some sleep."

"But Maria..." I reasoned.

"Now!" she barked.

Zach swallowed and laid down on his sleeping bag. "Yes ma'am," he muttered.

I scowled right back at her. Neither one us backed down until I got bored trying to figure out what to say.

"Fine," I grumbled before turning over.

For the next few hours, I just waited. I pretended to slow my body's breathing to make it look like I was asleep. I could hear Maria began to yawn and the ruffling of her sleeping bag as well. After a few minutes, I rolled over to see that she had finally laid down and went to sleep.

I smiled. The mean glare that was on her face earlier was gone. Now, there was a expression of relaxation and exhaustion. It was a face that always made me wonder if there were actually angels in the afterlife because I swore she looked like one.

I got up, picking up my sleeping bag, and walked over to her. The cold, desert evenings were always dangerous if you didn't bundle up properly. So, I placed my bag over her, watching her snuggle into it once she realized it was there.

Then, I walked back to my spot, sat down and leaned against a boulder. Digging in to my bag, I pulled out my battle jacket and covered it over me like a blanket. Finally, I got out my kunai and watched the area around my friends.

Only one thought went through my mind all evening.

_We're getting close... _


	9. Test of the King of Spirits

Ch. 9

* * *

After another long night of no sleep and being chewed out in the morning by Maria left me feeling a little antsy as we broke camp. However, as we stepped to the ravine we camped next to, we were greeted with a surprise.

"How could we miss this?" I asked the twins. All three of us were gazing into the bottom of the canyon.

"Maybe we all need to get glasses," Maria suggested meekly.

"I think there's some kind of supernatural crap going on here. We checked the entire area and saw nothing," said Zach.

"Maybe you're right. I mean, how could camp right next to a village of Aztec ruins!" I yelled.

"I believe they're called Pueblo ruins."

"Whatever!"

The ruins were so perfectly sculpted into the canyon. They covered a good three acres of ground, went a good fifty feet in the rock wall, and several of the buildings were at least three stories tall. It was hard to imagine the people who lived here practically carved out a small village through solid rock.

But there was something more than that. Something was making my shaman sense go crazy. I could somehow feel myself being drawn into the stone structure. It was like a voice was calling out for us to meet it inside. I could feel it and I'm pretty sure the twins felt it as well.

"Am I the only that feels that?" Zach asked. He had his hand on his revolver.

"I feel it too," whispered Maria. Her hand was one her whip.

I noticed their movements. "Calm down guys. I think that whatever is in there does not mean us any harm."

Zach raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

I knew he was trying to trust me more since last night, but he still seemed doubtful about my decisions.

"I can feel it. Whatever's in there, it is not a hostile force. I think it's more of a test."

"Test?"

"Something like that," I said. I then began to climb down the ravine, jumping from ledge to ledge. "Only one way to find out."

We made our way down, using our skills and strength to land safely onto the rocks. Doing this only sounds dangerous, but when you have mana helping you out, it's as easy as walking. It's really fun, too.

In quick time we were at the bottom. We made our way to the ruins, cautious with every step we took because as we got closer the voice calling us seemed to get louder. The ruins also seemed to shimmer with furyoku. I didn't know whose, but it felt very alien. It came strongest from the center of the village.

We walked through the village. All of us were watching a different direction with our weapons in our hands. We didn't want to take any chances of someone ambushing us.

"Do you think this could be Dobie Village?" asked Maria.

"I don't think so," I said. "If it was, there would be shaman everywhere. I can't sense anyone else." _Except that weird mana that's covering this entire ruin._

We continued walking to the center of the village. We about reached the wall of the canyon when we saw an cave opening against the rock wall. It would have seemed normal except it was giving off this weird glow. I turned to my friends, who saw the cave as well. They nodded and I led the way through the opening. Taking each step carefully, we walked through a short tunnel till we came to a giant cavern.

There were a few ruins in here as well, but what really got our attention was a giant lake in the center of the cavern. It was perfect circle and didn't show any signs of running off or that it came from another water source. Furthermore, the lake seemed to giving off a blue glow. I don't mean water blue. It was a definite sky blue that filled the cavern with light. The sight literally stole my breath.

I turned to my friends. "Think we found the Blue Cave?" I asked them.

They just stared at the lake with awe in their eyes. Maria actually looked like she was about to tear up. Her eyes glistened and her mouth was covered by her hands. I guess she never seen anything so beautiful.

Zach had this smile on his face like he saw something special happen, like a wedding or a new baby. It was a definite change from the moody Zach that I have been hanging around for the past month.

"Yeah, I think we found the blue cave," Maria sighed.

Zach tore his eyes away from the lake and looked around. He frowned. "But where do we go from here?"

I followed his lead and frowned as well. There seemed to be no other tunnel in the cavern except the one we walked through. The three us set our bags on the ground, seperated and began to check the ruins to see if they had any hidden passageways. My search turned up useless. There was nothing in the abandoned buildings, not even broken pottery.

"Anything?" I yelled from my side.

"Nothing!" came Zach's voice from one of the ruins.

"Same over here!" Maria yelled from the building she walked out of.

We rechecked the area just in case one of missed something. Nothing new came up so we gathered around the lake to think of a plan. Maria was trying to convince her brother that we should do a search around the entire ruins on the outside to see if we missed a different cave while Zach argued that this cave was our best bet. I just waited for them to stop arguing so I could properly think. The answer was right in front of us, I could feel it.

I shifted my hand. A rock scuttled across the ground and fell into the lake. The water rippled, causing the light to shimmer in my eyes for a second. I blocked the light with my hand and waited for the ripples to stop. I lowered my hand when the did and stared at the water. Not only was the water blue, it was completely clear as well. I could see the walls of lake as the water dropped down in a perfect cylinder to the bottom. The deeper the water, the brighter the light seemed to be. Then my eyes grew wide and saw the problem right in front of our eyes.

"Guys..." I started.

"What?" asked the twins.

"It's so obvious," I said as I pulled off my boots and socks. "This might not be the blue cave out here. It's probably down there." I gestured to the water.

"An underwater cave?" Zach asked skeptically.

"Yeah. Let me go check it out," I said as I began to pull my shirt over my head. But then I heard a wolf-whistle. I turned around to see Zach scowling at Maria, who was looking at me with a smirk on her face.

_On second thought, I'll keep it on._

I dove into the water and was immediately shocked by how warm the water was. It felt more like a heated pool than a lake. And there was something else in the water as well. I don't know what it was, but I felt my mana spike a little. It was as though the water was supplying furyoku to me. And not only that, it felt like there was a presence in the water, floating along with me.

It felt just like that wind I felt at the Grand Canyon.

A few seconds of searching, I found the source of the blue glow. About 20 feet down there was another cave opening in the rock crevice. From there, a bright blue light was emitting from the opening. I swam to the bottom and hovered over the cave opening. There was no doubt about it, this was the Blue Cave. Problem was that the tunnel seemed to be really long despite the light it was given off. There was no telling how long it would take us to reach the end.

The need for air was too great for me to deny any longer. I swam back up to my friends who were waiting for me at the edge of the lake.

"Did you find something?" Maria asked as soon as my head broke the surface.

"It's down there all right," I muttered, spitting water out of my mouth. I pulled myself onto the bank. "About twenty feet down, there's a cave giving off a glow. Problem is that I don't know how far that cave extends. If we go, we got to swim fast and hard."

"Meaning we have to leave our packs here," Zach said. His gaze was at our pile of equipment. "Can we risk leaving them here?"

"We can hide them in one of the ruins. In case we actually find the village, we can come back and get them later," I suggested. The twins nodded. "But take your mediums with you. We need those no matter what."

I stood up on the bank and pulled off my shirt. If we were going to be fast, we needed every advantage we could get. Zach and Maria were thinking the same thing as they grabbed their packs and went to a secluded ruin. I did the same. Shedding the rest of my clothes, I pulled a pair of red, swimming trunks from my bag that had pockets for my weapons. I packed my spirit medium into the pockets along with a few shuriken, kunai, waterproof matches, and other items I thought we need just in case. It never hurt to be to careful. When I was done, I placed my bag in a corner where I hoped no one would discover it because I left my battle jacket inside.

My friends were waiting for me at the edge of the lake. Like me, Jake was wearing a pair of swimming trunks, except the were blue. He was doing some stretches to loosen his muscles and I saw his spirit revolver in the waistband of his pants. Maria was wearing a pair of shorts too; a pair of _very _short khaki's with her whip wrapped around her waist. She also had a very short crop top that could only be legal on a private beach. My imagination was going into overdrive from the amount of skin I saw and I could feel all the blood rushing to my head and another area that I'm hoped no one would notice. Zach turned to me and frowned.

"Dude, are you alright?"

"Why?" I asked shakily. I could almost feel myself shivering.

"Your nose is bleeding," he told me. (Hey, it's an anime.)

I turned my head and rubbed my nose, embarrassed that all the blood rushing to my head escaped from my nose. Why couldn't I be a gentleman about certain things?

"I'm fine," I muttered as I finally got the leaking to stop. Zach was frowning with concern while Maria just smirked from behind his back. She gave me a very proactive pose and winked at me, almost causing me to blowback from another nosebleed.

"Ok!" I said a little too loudly. "We're all set!"

Maria just chuckled. "So what's the plan?"

"We go down and swim, plain and simple," Zach said.

"True, but we need to pace ourselves," I added. "If we burn all of our energy swimming as fast as we can, we'll lose all of the oxygen in our lungs. We need to pace ourselves and save what air we can. Be safe, but be quick." The twins nodded.

"Also, try to see if can power your furyoku in swimming faster as well."

"Got it," said Zach.

"Let's go," Maria nodded.

We made our way to bank and prepared to dive. I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer to Great Spirit to watch over us, and dived in. The twins dived in right after me. The second we hit the water we kicked for the cave opening.

I don't know about my friends, but I was really worried about this. We were diving into unknown territory without checking the location. The possibilities of us drowning were really high, especially if there weren't any air pockets. If we realized it was too long and couldn't reach the end, it would be too late for us to swim back in time. Another thing was the chance of running into wrong turns, collapses, jagged rocks, currents and water _yoki_(Monsters). That last one freaked me out the most.

It was just another time I wish we had our guardian ghosts with us. They would be able to just float through the water without the danger of drowning and check out the tunnel for us.

That though made me swim harder through the tunnel. I had to remember why we were doing this. To avenge our guardian ghosts and stop Hao's reign of terror from continuing. We were doing this to gain new guardian ghosts from Yoh.

Zach and Maria were leading the way, swimming side by side. I took up the rear, watching out for them. They knew I could hold my breath the longest so I stayed behind just in case they had trouble. If any one of them had trouble, I would be able to swim them to safety. At least, I hope I could.

For nearly thirty-seconds, nothing happened. Around that time all of us began to swim using our arms and legs. I saw the twins share a look of concern with each other. It was one that made me begin to feel nervous about how much time they had.

A minute passed and the twins began to pick up the pace. They were using the full extent of their arms and legs. I could feel my lungs begin to burn as well. They had about another minute of air before I was in trouble.

A minute-thirty and I saw the panic look in the twin's eyes. I could also see bubble erupting from their mouths. Their bodies needed oxygen real soon. If not, their lungs would involuntary open and begin sucking whatever was around into their bodies, whether it would be air or water. I swam forward and caught both of them by their arms, kicking and surging forward ahead of them while pulling them along. I pumped my furyoku into my leg muscles to keep myself going.

At two minutes, I saw a cloud of bubble erupt from Maria's head and I knew her time was up. She was beginning to breath in water and drown. If I didn't get her to the surface soon, it would be too late. Zach had a look of panic on his face as he watched his sister. Bubble were beginning to erupt around him more frequently. I too could feel my lungs about to bust as well.

The next second, I saw a an air pocket! The tunnel ceiling was gone and I could see the stalactites hanging from the ceiling through the surface. But at that moment, I felt Maria stop struggling. I also felt Zach beginning to slow down as well.

It was now or never. I powered whatever furyoku I could into my arms and hurled my friends to the surface. They shot through the water like torpedoes and burst through the water.

They flew through the air and landed on the bank on the far side of the cavern. I swam to the surface, bursting through the water and taking in air like I was never going to breathe again.

My friends were on the bank. Zach was on his hands and knees, coughing water out of his lungs. He sounded real sick. But my blood ran cold when I saw Maria lying motionless on the stone floor. Wasn't coughing, wasn't breathing.

I swam to the bank, pulled myself out and ran to her side. "Zach, you ok?" I called out.

"I'll live," came a hoarse whisper.

"Good," I put my cheek against Maria's mouth while pressing my fingers to her throat. There was no sign she was breathing, but there was a small, fading pulse. "Come on, Maria, don't go now."

I tilted her head back gave two quick breaths, watching her chest rise at the corner of my eye as my air filled her longs. Then I placed my palms just below her collarbone and began a series of compressions, thirty in rapid succession.

"Come on, don't give up," I muttered.

Zach crawled beside me. "Is she going to be alright?"

"I don't know." Doing this on a real body instead of a practice dummy in swim class was a big difference. Maria's life was in my hands. If I failed, there wouldn't be another turn.

I finished my compressions and turned to breath air back into her lungs. Zach didn't say anything as I gave her my first breath. Her lungs filled up, then settled back down.

_Come on,_ I urged. I gave her my second breath before I would start again with the compressions. When her lungs filled a second time, her body jerked beneath me. She sat straight up, coughing up water and gasping. Zach and I backed away to give her room to breath. I saw the relief on Zach's face as he gazed at his twin with a tear in his eye. Who could blame him? He just almost lost his sister a second time in his life.

After a few minutes of deep breaths, she finally opened her eyes and looked around. Her gaze fell on Zach, who was still silently crying. She gave him a grin.

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily," she whispered. He just chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

I just watched them, giving thanks to Kami that they were alright. Images kept playing through my mind about what could have happen I was too late getting them to the surface. But here we were, alive and well.

Maria broke the hug and turned to me. She smiled again pulled me into a hug as well.

"Thank you," she told me.

"Anytime," I said. She just hugged me harder and buried her head into my neck. I looked over her shoulder at Jake. He didn't even have a scowl on his face as I hugged his twin. He just had a smile.

There was something inside of me that began to overwhelm my entire body. It was a feeling I only felt a few times when I was living with Niishi and Kubai, but much stronger. I didn't know what this feeling was. All I know was that I didn't want her to leave my arms. Ever.

Maria began to pull away, but not before whispering in my ear. "Next time, you don't have to put your lips to mine just because I'm not breathing."

I felt my face heat up. When she pulled back, there was that familiar smirk on her face when she was teasing me. Zach saw the smirk and my red face. Then, that all-familiar scowl was on his face.

* * *

We rested a few minutes before resuming our journey. There was a another cave opening that were not really willing to go into, but with the option of going back through the swim tunnel, we didn't have much choice. Nothing ventured nothing gain, I guess.

But again, it was a very long tunnel. One that we were still currently trekking after three hours.

"This is getting old really fast," grumbled Zach. He was in the back, hunched over and nearly dragging his hands across the ground. Maria, who was beside me, looked almost as haggard as he was, but maintaining herself. Meanwhile, I was trying not to moan and groan like Jake, but it was a struggle.

"Just bear with it brother," Maria assured him. "Just think, pretty soon, we'll be chilling in a patio outside of a coffee shop, sipping on mocha's and scones."

Jake smiled and closed his eyes. "Mmmmm....scones." He proceeded to walk with drool coming out of his mouth.

I raised an eyebrow to Maria. "How does mochas and pastries fit into Dobie Village? I mean, this place sounds like an old ruin where we're probably going to have to hunt for our food and fight each other just to survive. You don't think there's actually going to be a café or game arcade there, do you?"

Maria shrugged. "You never know. A lot of weirder things have happened."

"Like...?"

She said nothing, but she was grinning at me like a cat who just ate a cannery.

"Maybe you'll find out before this is tournament is over." She then skipped ahead of me with her hands behind her back.

I just shook my head and muttered about girls and their confusing traits. It must be an American thing because girls were always thorough with me when I talked to them. However, it was usually the negative when they responded.

_I don't even think the King of Spirits understands girls._

I walked beside Zach. "You're sister is really weird, you know that?" I asked him.

He didn't answer and just kept drooling over the though of chocolate drinks and pastries. It didn't make sense. How could he like that stuff if he grew up on a ranch?

"_Baka_," I muttered.

"Hey, guys," came Maria's voice from down the tunnel. "We got a problem here."

Zach snapped out of his stupor and turned to me with a worried expression on his face. We then hustled down the tunnel, pulling our weapons out and preparing for anything. However, what I saw wasn't what I expected.

It was a dead end.

"How is this possible? Did we take a wrong turn?" Zach yelled in outrage.

"We couldn't have! There was no other turns or caves in either the underwater cave or in the cavern we came out of!" I yelled.

"Maybe we should try and blast our way through?" Zach asked. He aimed his revolver at the wall, enveloping it in his navy-blue furyoku. Since he didn't have his guardian ghost, his bullets would only have one-tenth of their original power compared to his Cowboy Cannon. But it was still a powerful attack.

"This is a solid limestone wall," Maria groaned. "We need about fifty sticks of dynamite just to blow a ten-foot hole into the rock."

Kevin put his revolver back into his waistband. "So what do we do?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. There must be a way. We didn't travel all this way just to

give up. We risked drowning, shaman battles, and Hao to get here. There had to be a way. But right now, I just couldn't think what.

"We should go back for now," I finally said. The twins sighed, but didn't say anything. I turned around to head back....

.....only to find it blocked as well.

"What the hell?!" Zach yelled and pulled out his gun. Maria untied her whip and enveloped it with her pink furyoku.

"Something big is about to happen," I said, grabbing my kunai.

"You think?" Zach said.

_You have entered the path to the King of Spirits_

"What the...?" I asked. I recognized that voice. It was the same voice that told me Rahu the comet was in the sky. The one I felt in the Grand Canyon. One whose sounded old and young, male and female.

A bright flash of light enveloped to cave, causing us to shield our eyes. When the light died down, what seemed to be a bird. It was about the size of an eagle, but completely made of white mana. Mana I recognized as the one in the underwater cave.

_Is this...._

_Now, prepare for your test._

"Wait a minute," Maria cried. "What test...?" She trailed off as the bird began to glow even brighter.

I shielded my eyes from the bright light, but I could feel myself getting dizzy. In a matter of seconds, I fell to the ground and was soon swallowed up by darkness.

* * *

After what seemed like only a few seconds, my eyes snapped open again. I sat up immediately and glanced around at my surroundings. I wasn't in the cave anymore; far from in fact. I was in a giant room, one that I recognized all to well. The walls were painted white, but the paint was peeling off. Three chandeliers hung from the ceilings, most of the chains were falling off and a few of the lights were broken. And I was laying in a small, twin-size bed. The mattress was barely three inches thick, covered with thin bed sheets. There were several sets of the same beds lined up beside mine and across the room.

I realized that I was back in the old orphanage. The one I swore I would never return to.

I got up and walked out of the empty room, which freaked out a little because when I was here, the rooms were never empty. No kids, no parents visiting, and no workers. The place was silent as a tomb.

Hurrying through the hallways, I pulled out my spirit kunai out of my swimming trunks with my left hand and several shuriken with my right. If I wasn't in such a panic, I would have noticed my hand wasn't damaged anymore. I kicked the doors open and flew into the street. Another shocking surprise was that I found the streets completely empty. No kids playing, no cars driving, no pedestrians, or any other city sounds.

"Hello!! Is there anybody out there!? Zach?! Maria?!" I called out. Nothing answered except for my own echo.

_Ok, think. The first thing I need to do is find my friends. Next, find out how I got back to Okinawa because this is way to real to be a dream._

I hurried to the down the street. Dream or not, there was one place in the city I was sure that had answers: Jiji and Obaasan's antique shop. Finding that place was like riding a bike. I've been there so many times that I could find it blindfolded.

But I got halfway there before I found something that actually looked out of place. In the midde of the street, I found Zach's revolver. The barrel was bent and the handle was shattered, but I recognized it instantly.

"Zach!! Where are you?!! Say something!!" I yelled. Something told me that Zach was in more trouble than every because he could hold his own even without his spirit medium. For it to be in this condition, I was beginning to fear the worst.

I hurried forward again the my grandparent's shop. As I got closer, I kept getting the feeling that I was being watched. And whoever it was, I could tell that it was someone I didn't want to tango with.

I was almost there when I found Maria's whip in the street. Like Zach's medium, it showed the signs of a hard-fought battle. The leather was untwined and frayed.

"Maria!!" I cried out while gazing around. There was no sign at all. No footprints, signs of a battle, or debris. You think a weapon in this condition would show signs of a battle or something.

I continued down the street to the corner that would lead me to street the shop was on. But when I rounded the street, I got the shock of my life. Instead of a row of streets, I've seemed to emerge in a forest clearing. Now I knew I wasn't in my hometown. Trees surrounded about an acre of grass with a giant tree growing in the center. It wasn't a species that I recognized back in Okinawa so it must have been one that grew in America.

That's when I noticed two figures laying motionless at the root of the tree.

"Maria!! Jake!!" Even from a distance I could tell they were beaten within an inch of their lives. Blood coated their torn clothes. Jake was leaning against the tree with his face covered with bruises. Maria was lying face down beside him. But they were still alive. I could feel their furyoku in their bodies, though it was severely depleted.

I hurried forward to help them. But I didn't get within twenty-feet of them when I ran into an invisible barrier. Shocks ran through my body as I was thrown back. I landed on one knee, gasping in pain.

_You have entered the road to Dobie Village. The end of your journey is near._

_Great. The voice was back_. "What happened to my friends?"

_They have failed their tests. They must remain here for their punishments. However, you may pass._

"What?" I yelled. I pulled my kunai out and infused it with my furyoku. It grew about a foot bigger. "I'm not going to leave them here."

_Leave them._

"Never!" I charged forward, swinging my kunai in an arc over my head at the barrier. The two forces clashed and for a second, I held against the barrier. But a force pushed me away again. This time, with twice a much force. I flew back farther and landed on my back. It felt like every one of my nerves was on fire.

_There can be only one Shaman King. Your friends will only slow you down_.

The voice was right. There could only be one Shaman King. This tournament would only have one winner. But there was one thing this pushover never realized. All of my friends made a promise to help one other out. To put each other first before the tournament.

I groaned and sat back up. Using my kunai, I pushed myself to my feet. My body was screaming in pain but I ignored it.

"You're a _baka_, you know that?" I told the voice. "Without my friends, there is no reason to fight in this tournament."

The voice didn't reply. I couldn't tell if was shocked or not.

"So let's get one thing straight!" I held my kunai in front of me, pushing all the furyoku I could into it. I grew bigger and longer until I was holding a red, telephone pole-size kunai in my hands. My furyoku engulfed the medium, flickering like fire. "I AM NOT LEAVING HERE WITHOUT MY FRIENDS!!!"

I charged forward, holding my kunai like a knight's lance. Roaring, I rammed my medium into the barrier.

* * *

My eyes snapped open again. I sat up and winced as the pain in my hand returned full force. I got use to it feeling fine in my dream that it was unexpected.

"Welcome back," a voice told me.

I turned to my left and saw a face I hadn't seen in nearly six months.

"Oxy?"

He smiled. "Nice to see your alive and well."

I chuckled. "Somewhat." Then I looked around at my surroundings. I was laying on a futon like in my old room. There were two others folded on the floor next to me. The rest of the room was bare, the walls were the familiar Indian Red Stone, just like the ruins. And against the wall on the floor was our backpacks. I looked down to see that I was wearing the clothes before I went into the cave.

"Wait, what happened. Where are my friends?" I asked in a panicked voice.

Oxy raised a hand. "Calm down. Your friends are ok. I believe they're out shopping."

"Shopping?"

He stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "Come and see." He walked through a doorway that lead into the sunlight. I followed him out and saw that I was on a balcony. The sight below took my breath away. I was surrounded by stone buildings, just like the ruins earlier, but these buildings stretched over a mile and were more furnished. In fact, I swore I saw a coffee shop and an arcade.

"Is this..."

"Congratulations, Kasai. You have reached Dobie Village with two days to spare."

I let a breath out that I've seen to have been saving for the last month. Finally, after all this time, I had arrived.

Oxy began to explain what the village contained. Everything from shopping centers to training gyms, but I wasn't really listening. My eyes caught the attention of a giant pillar of light that seemed to be just outside the village. The base seemed to be about a kilometer wide and shrink as it rose into the sky. The light seemed to flicker like fire.

Finally, the power from it was similar to the one I felt in the tunnel.

Oxy stopped his explaining and turned to my gaze. "And that, is the path to the King of Spirits."

My eyes widened. "That's the King of Spirits?"

He nodded. "Amazing, isn't it?"

I could only nod. But then I gasped with horror.

"Then that means...."

Oxy seemed to understand what I was stuttering. "Yes, you faced the test of the King of Spirits. You should feel honored. No many shaman to get meet him face to face."

"And I...."

"Called him a _baka_," Oxy chuckled. "The Shaman Council was watching your test. Goldva fell out of his seat when you said that."

"Goldva?"

"The High Chief of the Shaman Council. You'll hear from him tomorrow."

I still couldn't believe it. I just called the most powerful being on the planet and spiritual plane an idiot. I'm surprised I was still alive.

"Ahh, I see your friends have arrived," Oxy told me. I followed his gaze to the ground and saw my friends enter the same building below. "I'll see you soon."

"Yeah," I muttered weakly. I was still shaken up at my actions.

"Oh, I should tell this as well. Hao arrived yesterday," I scowled. "Fighting is forbidden in the village. All participants must obey this rule."

"So he can't attack me or my friends?"

"Only in a Shaman Fight."

I sighed. "Ok. I won't cause trouble."

Oxy nodded. "Good. And one more thing, you arrived before Yoh Asakura. If he can keep up, he should arrive tomorrow. See that his fiancé holds up her end of the bargain."

My eyebrow rose. "You know about our arrangement?"

Oxy smirked. "Yep. And his Shaman officiator owes me 500 Dobie dollars. I betted that you would get here before him."

I scowled. "Hey, wait a minute!"

"_Ja Ne!" _(See ya) He leapt off the balcony and hopped across the buildings towards an cliff that rose higher than the rest of the village. I'm guessing that's where the Council met.

"Jake!" I turned around and my vision was obscured with brown hair as a pair of strong arms nearly squeezed the life out of me. "It's good to see you up. You've been out for a couple of hours."

Maria let me go and stepped back beside her twin. Both of them had smile on their faces. However, I noticed that they were perfectly fine, which was impossible considering the condition I saw them in earlier.

"How come you guys aren't injured?"

Zach frowned and looked at his body. "Why would we be?"

"You guys were beaten to pulp just a few hours ago! How could you be up and standing with no injuries?"

Maria smiled. "Let me guess, we were bloody and beaten underneath a talking tree?"

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Jacob, we all had the same test," Maria explained.

* * *

Maria:

_Leave them. They are not worthy to pass._

_"I'll never leave them!" Maria yelled as she whipped her pink medium in a wide arc towards the barrier._

Jake:

_They only get in the way. Forget about them._

_"I'll be the judge of that! You have no right to say that!" Jake yelled has he powered his blue medium into a shot that rivaled his Cowboy Cannon at the barrier._

* * *

"Wow, I don't believe it," I whispered.

"I know! We actually got to meet the King of Spirits. Isn't it wonderful?" Maria chirped, nearly bouncing with glee.

"Yeah," I hesitated. I could only imagine what they would say when I told them what I called the Great Spirit during my test.

"Come on, we saw a Japanese restaurant down the street. Let's get some dinner," Zach said.

Maria grabbed my wrist, careful not touch the burn marks and dragged me out of the building. I couldn't help but smile. Here we were, just in time for the second round of the Shaman Tournament.

Now all we have to do was wait for Yoh and Anna.

* * *

Later that night, as I tried to get to sleep once again, I was able to remember the last part of the battle with the King of Spirits.

_The barrier broke the second my kunai touched. Not wasting any time, I hurried forward to my friends. But they disappeared before I could reach them. In there place, was the pillar of light._

_You have chosen your friends over yourself. You may pass into Dobie Village. Good luck, Kasai._

* * *

The groups new ghosts will appear in next chapter. I hope you guys will enjoy who I have chosen.

Any questions?


	10. New Guardian Ghosts

I'm either going to loved or hated when I introduce my character's new guardian ghosts. I just hope you enjoy them.

* * *

Ch. 10

I woke up to the sun shining in my face. It was one of the few nights where I got five hours of sleep without waking up to my nightmares. One of the few nights when I can wake up with a smile on my face. But nights like those were rare. Was it because we arrived in Dobie Village? That the stress was finally off for the time being?

I turned to my right to get up but something kept me down. Looking to my left, I saw that Maria had a hold of my left hand. Her face was calm, but both her hands had a death-grip on mine. The more I struggled, the more she held on.

My face broke out into another smile. Maybe Maria was right about having someone sleep next to me. I don't know what it was, but whenever she was around, I would always feel calm and collected.

I gently pried her hands from mine and got up to start the morning. Carefully, I stood to my feet and rolled up my futon. Kevin and Maria didn't stir from the floor, nor did they show any sign of waking up soon. So I scribbled a note saying I was going to a restaurant for breakfast, got dressed, and left.

The shops were just beginning to open up and a few shaman participants were wandering the streets with their ghosts trailing behind them. I got to admit, even though the town was built a thousand years ago with stone structures, they got some pretty advance technology here.

The first store I passed was built for the sole purpose of replacing Oracle Bells. Through the glass, I saw several different Bells lining the walls with different colors and designs. There was also a few knick-knacks sold for decorating the bells as well.

The next store was a café with computers and wireless access. The clerk was already up and serving a couple of shaman coffee. A few others were already sitting at computer screens, checking their e-mails or playing MMORPG's. I found it very weird they were playing games when a lot more cooler stuff was happening around them.

But at least Zach would get his coffee.

Another store was pretty much a souvenir with Bumber Stickers, collection plates and mugs, shaman officiator bobble heads, memorial stones, and t-shirts that read 'I love Dobie Village'. I actually stopped to look at the store, just to see how ridiculous it was.

Continuing on, I discovered the eateries. There were pizza shops, Chines buffets, hamburger stands, Indian restaurants, ramen stands, Italian parlors, and steak houses. There a few more I didn't recognize, but they sure smelled great while they turned on their ovens for the prepare for lunch later.

Finally, I came to a place that sold breakfast pastries and drinks. The smell of fresh, cooked dough brought me inside. A bell tinkled somewhere as I opened the door and looked around. Surrounding me were several glass panels that contained donuts, turnovers, cookies, brownies, and yes, scones. I pretty much ran to the front panel and gazed at the fresh donut holes and long johns. The were all in bunches: glazed, frosted, frosted with sprinkles, chocolate, maple, vanilla, strawberry, filled with cream or jelly. All of them were still steaming.

I was pretty much drooling at this point. Never had so many things look so delicious. I didn't even here a voice calling out several times.

"Can I help you!?!?" a voice yelled out. I broke out of my trance but never took my eyes off the display.

"Yes, can I have 3 glazed donuts, 3 chocolate-frosted donuts with sprinkles, 2 maple long-johns, and 2 jelly donuts," I drooled.

There was a moment of silence before the clerk said, "anything to drink?"

"Yes, the biggest orange juice you got!"

"Right away, sir!"

A hand reached through the doors and begin to pull my orders off the tray. I spent the whole time watching him, making sure he would miss a single one. Every donut he picked up, my stomach would growl a little louder.

I heard a wrapping of a paper bag before the clerk said, "Here's your order....Kasai?" I finally recognized the voice and looked at the clerk. My jaw dropped when I saw Oxy standing behind the counter wearing an apron and a chef's hat.

"Oxy, what are you doing here?"

He grinned. "I work here. Being a shaman officiator doesn't pay the bills."

"So you're a pastry chef?" I asked.

"Yep."

I shook my head. "Ok, how much do I owe you?"

"Let me see your Oracle Bell," said Oxy. I raised my left hand over the counter. Oxy grabbed what looked like a barcode scanner and grazed it over the bell's screen. There was a beep from both objects and Oxy pulled away. I looked at the screen. DP 980.

"Our currency system here is called Dobie dollars. Each shaman fighter is given 1000 Dobie dollars to spend when they first arrive. To earn more, fighters could either win in their shaman fights or get a job," Oxy finished while pointing to a sign in the window. I saw a 'help wanted' sign taped to the outside glass. "Any questions?"

"Yeah," I growled. "Is everything this expensive?"

Whoa, whoa," Oxy raised his hands in defense. "Running a tournament like this is bound to be expensive."

"Well, don't expect a tip," I said, grabbing the bag. "See you around."

I headed outside and decided to go eat breakfast by the lake. From there, I could get a good view of the landscape and the King of Spirits. However, I had to take a bus to get there, which ended up me paying more DD(Dobie Dollars) for the ride. But when I got there, I realized it was worth it.

The view of the landscape from our roadtrip didn't compare to what the Village looked like from my view. The entire village was surrounded by a forest that extended a mile out from the town. The trees were a combination of evergreen and pine that were giving off an intoxicating scent that was so much better than Tokyo's.

And the lake. The water was crystal blue and clear, just like the water in the blue cave. It seemed to stretch on forever, straight into the Great Spirit's pillar of light. The pillar's reflection was a near perfect image in the calm waters.

After eating, I stretched out on my back and just got lost in the sounds of the forest and water. And for the first time in a while, I felt at peace. For the moment anyway.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice called out. A very familiar voice.

I jumped up and grabbed my kunai. There, sitting on a bank just a few feet from me, was Hao. He too was staring at the King of Spirits with a calm, but hungry look. Sitting beside him was a dark-skinned boy I never seen before. He looked to be about six-years-old, wearing an orange poncho, and had a red headband in his afro. He was staring at me with a confused expression on his face.

Hao turned to me when I stood up. He saw my kunai and waggled a finger at me. "Uh-uh-uh. You don't want to get in trouble with the Shaman council now, do you? They have a tendency to exile troublemakers like you."

"Then how the hell are you here? You've caused enough pain and suffering to last a thousand years."

Hao just shrugged. "Give or take a few years."

I just stared at him for a few moments before sheathing my knife. "What are you doing here?"

"Just taking in the sights. I wanted to enjoy my day before the second round starts. Then I'm really going to have fun."

"By killing other participants!?!"

"Master Hao, who is this boy?" the boy asked. "He sure is annoying."

"That Opacho, is a friend of mine I met in Okinawa. His name is Jacob Sawyer. But according to his Oracle Bell, he also goes by the name of Kasai Sawyer-Asakura."

Opacho's eyes widened. "Then he is..."

"Related to me," finished Hao.

"In name only," I growled.

"Why haven't you asked him to join you?" asked Opacho.

I interrupted Hao before he could answer. "Because your master is pyromaniac who enjoys destroying lives. He killed my grandparents."

"Don't you mean my great uncle and aunt," said Hao. "Like I said before, anyone who doesn't deserve to be in my shaman world can burn to ashes. And that will include you when the time is right, my dear cousin."

"We'll see about that. I will not stand by and let you destroy the world."

"Don't you mean 'we'?" a voice called out.

I turned around to see Maria and Zach heading towards us. Maria had her arms crossed and was looking at Hao with a look of pure fury. Zach's look was impassive but I could see his revolver in his hand, lightly tapping it on his leg.

The twins joined on either side of me.

"Hello," Hao said pleasantly. "So you still wish to stand against me?"

"We are not going to let the world burn, Hao," said Zach. "Your fires will never reach past this village."

"Just watch," added Maria. "Before this is over, you will see every shaman here stand against you and your evil."

The was a moment of silence before Hao started chuckling. The more he did, the louder he got until it became a full-body laugh. A laugh I always heard in my nightmares.

It was about a minute before he stopped. "Thank you. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. The thought of all shamans turning against me it quite impossible."

Opacho suddenly stood up. "Master Hao. I cannot stand by and let these animals mock your vision." The boy then turned on his heel and walked away. Hao just smiled.

"Well, it's been a while since Opacho did that." Hao stood up and turned to the trio. "Good luck," he said to us. Then he turned and followed his companion.

We waited until he was out of sight before the twins turned to me.

"What was that all about?" Maria asked.

"Oh, just a little chat between family," I replied.

Zach shuddered. "I can't believe the King of Spirits made you two family."

"Yeah, me too. So what's up?

"We just got a tip the second round of the tournament will be fought on teams of three. The teams are supposed to register at the building where the shaman council resides."

"Teams of three?" I asked.

"Yeah, we know," muttered Zach. "The team us up just to split us apart later when there is enough people for the single's division."

"But what about our ghost's? Yoh hasn't arrived yet."

"Don't worry," Maria assured me. "We don't need our ghosts until our first fight. Only then will our team and our ghost's will be official registered."

"Goldva will be making the announcement soon," Zach said. "We should head back."

* * *

By the time we got back into town, it was in full swing for lunch. Shaman from different parts of the world had gathered around, mingling and having a good time. For once, it didn't seem like there was a tournament to determine the fate of the world. It was like one giant party where everyone could have fun.

We didn't though. Me and my friends headed for the council chambers for the team sign-ups. We wanted a head start on everyone else so we didn't have to wait for everyone else.

In fact, just as we arrived, a few of the shaman officiators were already setting up tables for the check-ins. Also, there were a few other groups of shaman there as waiting as well. Looks like they had the same idea as us.

"Hey, check this out," Zach said as he grabbed a flyer from a nearby window. "'Attention participating shaman: the second round of shaman tournament will feature a three-team, single elimination fight.' Already knew that. 'Teams must have their guardian ghost's ready by the team's first fight to qualify.' That too."

"Anything we don't know?" Maria asked.

"Yeah. 'Teams will be notified the date and locations of their fights by oracle bells. If a team refuses to show, they will be disqualified.' Here's something else, too. We need to pick a team name for the tournament.

"A name? What are we, a sport's franchise?" Maria asked.

"That's what it says," Zach muttered as he put the flyer back. "What should we call ourselves? 'The Buckaroos?'"

I felt a strong killer intent from Maria. "No. Way. In. Hell," she growled through clenched teeth. "How about something hopeful like....Team Hope."

Zach sniggered loudly. "Yeah, that will really intimidate Hao and his merry band of killers. We need something that will strike fear into the other competitors so they know not to mess with us."

"Then how are we no better than Hao," Maria countered. "We need a name that will tell everyone that we're not like Hao. That we're here for the good of the world and we mean no harm."

"That's crap!"

"Says you!"

And they're at it again. I actually missed them bickering with each other. It hadn't happened since the day they lost their ghosts. One of the times were I wished I had a sibling to fight with.

They went at it for a few minutes before there was a microphone feedback that echoed around the village.

"Attention participating shaman! Welcome to the second round and congratulations on finding Dobie Village.

"As the Chief of the Shaman Council, I, Goldva, would like to offer words of wisdom and support as we approach the second round of the tournament. Just ugh..well...uh..." In the background, we could hear paper being shuffled. "I had them right here. Hey! What happened to my notes?"

"What notes, sir?" came another voice over the speakers.

"The notes! My words of encouragement to all competitors!"

"You said you memorized them...so I threw them away."

"Bah! Well, words of encouragement will come later." I glanced around. Every single person in the area had sweat-dropped. "Now, everyone must gather at the Shaman Council Chambers to register their three-person teams."

There was a moment of silence before it seemed like a majority of the people in village screamed, "WHAT!?!? TEAMS OF THREE!?!?! IS HE SERIOUS!?!?"

"I guess they didn't get the memo," Jake chuckled. "Now back to our team."

"Here's a thought," I said. "How about I sign us up and pick our team name. That way, you'll be a my throat instead of each other's?"

They considered it for a moment before nodding. But before I could turn away, Zach grabbed my arm.

"You better not pick anything lame," he growled.

I shook his arm off and walked off. "Don't worry. I got the perfect name."

Showing up earlier was a great idea as I only had to wait a few minutes at the table before I was staring at an officiator that had a bull skull around his waist.

"Name of your teammates?" he asked.

"My teammates are Zach Lee Harper, Maria Ann Harper, and my name is..." I took a breath..."Kasai Sawyer-Asakura."

All shaman officiators at the table stopped what they were doing and looked towards me with what looked like a small hint of fear. Even they other shaman around me were staring at me with unease.

I guess the name carries a lot of reputation.

The man in front of me gaped like a fish for a few seconds before coughing. "Name of team?" he asked in a rough, but careful voice.

I held out my hand for the paper he was filling out our information. He gave it to me and a pen. I wrote down the name of the team, then handed it back to the officiator. It took him a moment to examine the name I picked, then his eyes widened with surprise. Before he could speak, I turned around and walked away before I could attracted more attention.

But before I got to my friends, I spotted something down the street. Something I had been hoping for. I ran back to my friends.

"What did you pick-" Kevin started before I interrupted.

"Not now. I spotted Yoh and his friends. They're heading towards the lake."

* * *

The sun had set by the time we reached the lake. We were hiding in the bushes, just a few meters from the shore of the lake. Nearby, Yoh and his friends were discussing who was going to be on teams. It looked like Yoh was teaming up Ryu and Faust, the same guys he took on the viking team with while Ren was teaming up with the boy with blue hair named Horohoro and a new guy named Chocolovel they had just seemed to have met in the village.

Then, they had seemed to have the same conversation we did about the tunnel and the tree. Apparently, they had travel the same route we did and met the King of Spirits. Each one of them believed they had saved the others by themselves.

"Well, guys we better head back and sign ourselves into this round," Yoh told everyone. "We don't want to get disqualified before we even start, do we?"

Everyone agreed and began to walk off, each one talking about how they were going to win it all. Yet, they had no malice in their voices. They sounded more like they were about have a friendly game of basketball instead of fighting for their lives.

Before they left, I flared my furyoku the tiniest bit, just to catch the attention of Yoh. It worked. He stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. When he spotted me, a smile appeared on his face. He grabbed a hold of his fiance's hand to stop her.

"Uh, guys? We'll catch up with you later. There's something we need to do," he told his friends. Everyone looked at the couple with a raised eyebrow, but didn't question them and turned away. The couple watched them leave before heading back to us. We stood up and walked towards them.

"Let me guess," I started. "You were really looking forward to those cheeseburgers, weren't ya?"

Yoh laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "That obvious, huh?"

I nodded, then turned to girl beside him. She was about the same height as Yoh, but didn't have his cheerful demeanor. Her hair was blonde and covered by a blank handkerchief.. She was wearing a black dress and old-fashioned sandals. Around her neck, was a long necklace of blue beads. Her face was etched in a scowl that made me feel cold.

This is Yoh's fiancé? They are nothing alike and I don't think this is the case of 'opposites attract'?"

But nevertheless, I showed my respect. I turned to her and bowed. "Good evening. My name is Kasai Sawyer-Asakura. These are my friends and teammates, Zach and Maria. It's a great pleasure to meet you, Anna."

Anna didn't bow or returned my greeting. She just studied us with cold, piercing eyes. I noticed behind me that the twins were beginning to sweat.

"Anna, don't be rude," Yoh told her. He turned back to us. "Anna is an _Itako_, meaning she can summon spirits from anywhere in the world and from the spiritual plane. Whether they be in heaven or hell, she can find them and bring them here."

"Wow," Maria breathed. Beside her, Zach was just as surprised.

"Since your family and teammates oppose Hao, we'll be glad to help you guys out. The more the merrier, right?"

"I don't care what the Great Spirit says," said Anna for the first time. "You two are not family and I don't see why I have to help them. They haven't done anything for us."

"Anna, he's family," Yoh whimpered. By the way it sounded, he was beginning to sound afraid.

"I don't care," she growled while leaking her anger out. Her killer intent almost sent me to the ground. "You know what? I won't help them. I can feel their power. Kasai here may have a lot of furyoku, but he doesn't even compare to you. And those two sorry excuses for rednecks don't even have enough mana to throw a spirit ball at me."

The twins looked at her, confused. Then I remembered that they didn't understand Japanese. Anna was insulting them without them even knowing it.

I, however, was mad. Nobody talked likes that to my friends. I walked up and put my face inches from hers. "Now you listen here. You can beat me up, step on me, kick me in the balls, and hit me when I'm down. But there is one thing you cannot do and that is insult my friends. You got that you old hag?"

Despite it being summer, I felt the air around me drop about twenty degrees. Yoh's normal complex turned snowy white and he looked like he was trembling. Meanwhile, Anna had a look of pure fury and rage on her face. She seemed to shaking with anger and a snarl was developing from her mouth. Suddenly, she grabbed her beads from around her neck and swung them in my direction. A sledgehammer blow hit me in the stomach and sent me flying into a tree next to my friends. I hit the ground on my side and clutched my stomach. It felt like I broke a few ribs.

I looked up through bleary eyes to see two, monstrous creatures standing beside Anna. Each one was about seven feet tall, had muscle-bound torsos and arms with no head, and had three sets of horns on their heads. In the center of the heads/chests was a star patter where their eyes were. One was red with a single eye in the center of the star and carrying twin battle axes. The other was blue with five eyes in each star point and carried a single, bigger battle axe. Each one stood, battle ready, on either side of Anna, who crossed her arms and scowled at me.

I immediately recognized what they were. Shikigamis. Oni demons. And there seemed to be something familiar about them.

"Let's get one thing straight," Anna growled at me as my friends gathered around me. "I'm the one with the power here. If you want me to help, you better start showing some respect."

Zach and Maria grabbed me from beneath my arms and helped me up. I leaned against Maria and she wrapped an arm around my waist to steady me. "Why should I?" I muttered.

"You just felt what I could do with one blow. Imagine what would happen if I went full force?"

"What is she saying, Jake?" Maria asked.

"She's being a bitch," I said out loud in English. Anna's eyes immediately widened and Yoh's mouth dropped open. I guess they understood English as well.

"You little...." Anna shook with fury.

I pulled away from Maria and pulled out my kunai, enveloping it with my mana. "If there is one thing Jiji Niishi Asakura taught me is that respect is earned, not given. So far, you've only belittled us and treat us like dirt when we haven't done anything to you." I took a few steps forward. The twins knew what I had planned and pulled out there weapons as well. "So if you want respect, I'll give it to you!" I yelled and charged to her monsters.

The shikigami's immediately blocked me from Anna and held their weapons out to block my attack. Our weapons clashed, neither one of us giving an inch. If the gami's had a look of surprise, they had it on their faces now. Even Anna was shocked.

I felt the twins behind me and knew the plan. I broke the attack and leapt into the air to avoid their axes. Immediately Maria's pink whip swept across the ground at their feet to trip them. But the saw the attack and jumped as well. They were in the air below me, their axes poised to attack me, when Zach gave a shout. A blue ball of furyoku slammed into the gami's. They flew back several yards, but landed on their feet. Their chests were smoking, though.

I landed beside the twins. "Nice shot," I told Zach.

"No problem. We got this in the bag," he told me. Maria nodded.

Anna seemed to be trembling with anger while Yoh had a look of disbelief and awe on his face.

"Don't think this is over just yet. ATTACK!" Anna yelled. The shikigami's charged forward, axes raised.

Maria and I charged forward, side by side with Zach trailing behind us. When we were about ten yards away, I gave Zach the signal. He nodded and fired towards the monsters. His mana bullet hit the ground at their feet, kicking up a cloud of dust. That halted their rush, giving Maria a chance to whip her weapon into the cloud. Through the dust, I could see the outline of the shikigami's roped together by Maria's whip. I leapt into the air, charging my kunai with my furyoku.

"**Seirei Shougekiha**!" The wave of furyoku slammed into the shikigami's, kicking up more dirt. The three of us leapt back and waited for the dust to clear.

"There is no way they could get up from that," Zach muttered. Maria nodded.

But the next instant, two battle axes burst through the cloud towards us. On instinct, I jumped forward and blocked the attack head on. The force was enough to hurl me off my feet and backwards. I hit the ground and kept on going, finally stopping after twenty-feet. As I slowly got back up I noticed I created a divot in the ground several feet long and one foot deep. But then I saw something that made my insides turn to liquid.

Anna stood beside her shikigami's with a smirk on her face. The two monsters had the twins secured in there arms with their axes poised at their throats.

"Let them go!" I yelled.

"I don't think so," said Anna. "You see, whenever I summon my shikigami's to do my bidding, they can't return to the other side without spilling some blood. As a....kind of sacrifice if you will."

"Anna you can't be serious!" yelled Yoh. "Release them!"

"Shut up! I will do whatever I want to those who disrespect my power."

I powered all of my furyoku into my kunai. It grew until it reached the size of a telephone pole, just like it did against the Great Spirit. Despite its size, it felt as light as a sword. I held it in front of me, the point just feet away from the twins. "Let them go. If they are harmed in anyway, I will kill you. There will be no where on earth, heaven, hell, or limbo you can hide. I will find you, you will die, and I will personally deliver your soul to the Grim Reaper."

Anna seemed to be taken back by my statement. For one second, a look of fear crossed her face before her cold mask was back up. She tensed and so did the shikigami. I noticed a stream of red flowing down from Maria's neck. She had been cut. My anger flared and the furyoku surrounding my kunai was growing like fire.

"Like I said, my shikigami's can't return to the spiritual plane without taking a life."

I weighed the odds. I could strike fast enough before they could, but the resulting backlash could injure my friends, possibly even kill them. That was something I could not risk, not even winning the tournament. There was only one thing I could do. I disengaged my furyoku, and dropped my kunai to the ground. Then held out my arms.

"Then take my blood," I whispered.

Everyone's eyes widened. Even Anna's.

"No! Don't do it Jake!" Maria yelled. She tried to struggle against her captor.

"It's okay guys," I smiled towards the twins. "It's a small price to pay to see you alive."

"Don't even think about it!" Zach yelled at me. "If you die, I swear I'll come after you to the afterlife just to kick your ass!"

"You can't just-" Yoh started.

"Well," I said to Anna. "Here you go. Free shot."

Anna seemed to hesitate a few moments before grabbing her beads. "Fine by me."

The shikigamis dropped the twins and grabbed their axes. The charged forward, weapons raised over their heads to strike. Once they were let go, the twins immediately picked up their weapons and ran after their captors, intent on stopping them. Even Yoh grabbed his sword and Amidamaru to try and stop them.

Time seemed to slow down as they ran towards me. But I didn't budge. I just started straight into Anna's eyes, defiant until the end. As I saw her minions closing in at the corner of my eyes. Neither one of us blinked. Not until I saw the axes come down at me, the look of horror on the twins and Yoh's face, and the unnerving face from Anna.

But at the last second, just as I felt the wind from the swing of an ax and the scream from Maria, I saw Anna close her eyes and slightly jerk her hand. The shikigami's battle axes were only inches away from my throat, but they had stopped. Anna jerked her hand again and her monsters disappeared.

Yoh and Zach stopped, but Maria ran forward, dropped her whip, and engulfed me a tight hug. She was talking hysterically about how I was stupid to do something like that. The others joined me after they got over their shock. Zach was punching me in the shoulder for being an idiot while Yoh and Amidamaru were smiling at my bravery/stupidity.

Anna walked up to us, fuming. "You're either very brave or very stupid to challenge me like that."

I smiled and pulled Maria away. "Funny how those two can relate," I told her, causing everyone to smile.

Anna looked away and began to talk in English. "You three have proven your worth. You were willing to risk you lives to protect your teammates. I guess I'll help you out after all." She then turned to us. "But only this once."

We nodded and stood side by side. "Just tell us what we need to do."

She pulled off her spirit beads again and held them out to us. "I just need a drop of blood from each of you. By doing this, I can search anywhere in the cosmos to find a perfect match. When I summon your new spirits, they will be the spirits your are destined to have. Your blood ghost's , if you will. It's like finding the other half of you soul

"Really?" Maria asked.

Anna nodded. "When I find the ghost that matches your blood and use your spirit mediums, your powers will be doubled in strength. You will be nearly as strong as Yoh and his friends, but not quite powerful enough. Usually, I need information about the spirit in question to summon, but since we're using your blood, we'll find a match. It may be a while though."

"Great, let's get started," I said. I held out my hand and poked one of my fingers with my kunai. A drop of blood fell from the cut and landed on her necklace. It glowed red before fading away. The twins then pricked their fingers with their own knives and dropped blood onto the beads, glowing blue and pink.

Anna grabbed her beads back and walked towards the clearing away from us. She took a moment to focus before twirling her beads around. I could feel her mana spreading from them and engulfing the area and perhaps the world.

I turned to Yoh. "Has she done something like this before?"

He nodded. "This is her specialty. I've seen her do it several times. It's called _Kuchiyose_(Spirit summoning)"

"In fact," Amidamaru added, "she summoned my friend from heaven a few months ago to help re-forge a sword."

I was about to ask them more before Anna started chanting.

_One I place for my Father. Two I place for my Mother._

_Three I place for my brothers back home._

_Here I offer my flesh to aid your soul's release. Hear my voice at world's end and arise._

_Hear the sounds of my prayer beads and draw nigh!_

_I summon thou whose heart matches your shaman!_

_Ghost of Nature, ARISE AND JOIN YOUR SOUL!_

Flames of Mana began to emerge around Anna and take shape. After a few minutes, the

mana had formed into a fifteen-foot long rope that was as thick as a baseball. The form twisted around in the air and a distinct buzzing noise was heard. There was one finally flash and the mana became solid. When I recognized what it was, I jumped back in surprise.

It was a giant rattlesnake.

The reptile flopped at Maria's feet. It's scales were orange with a yellow diamond pattern along it's body. The head was the size of a football with fangs poking through it's mouth. Around the head were tiny horns like a triceratops. The buzzing noise we heard was it's ten-inch long rattle.

The snake rose off the ground, most of it's body still coiled and all we could see was it's back. It slowly turned around and faced Maria at eye-level. When I saw all of it's head, I nearly fell over in shock.

Instead of cat-eye slits, like most poisonous snakes, it had bright green eyes that had regular pupils. Instead of motionless mouth, it had a bright smile.

"Howdy there!" the snake said with a southern tone. "M'names Rowdy. What's yours?"

Maria was speechless for a few moments before breaking out in a grin. "My name is Maria."

"Nice to meet cha. The girl here told me I was to be your guardian ghost for this fancy tournament ya'll are having. That right?"

"Yep. Glad to have you aboard," Maria chuckled. Rowdy then slithered up Maria's arm and wrapped himself around her shoulders, just like Kaa did.

"This oughta been interestin'. I haven't been doing much since Pecos passed on."

Zach's eyes widened. "Pecos? As in Pecos Bill?"

"The one and only," laughed Rowdy. "When the girl asked me back into the real world, I jumped at the chance."

Zach kept staring at Rowdy in awe while Maria was petting Rowdy's head. The snake just purred in delight while shaking his tail, feeling the air with a buzz. It was enough to make everyone laugh, even Anna smiled.

"Your turn," Anna interrupted while looking at Zach. "I found your ghost, but there are two things. One, your getting double spirits."

"Two?"

Anna nodded. "They match your soul perfectly, but the two ghosts function as one. In their previous life, they worked together as a team. You will have to get yourself another spirit medium.

Zach nodded. "I can handle that. What is the other thing?"

"I have to summon their spirits from Hades. They did a lot of evil in their lives and had to pay for it, despite some of it being for good intentions. But by summoning them, they have a chance for redemption. If they help you, they will be set free. They won't be able to go to Heaven but they'll be able to wander the Earth."

Zach was silent for a moment before nodding. Anna turned back to her work and started chanting again.

_One I place for my Father. Two I place for my Mother._

_Three I place for my brothers back home._

_Here I offer my flesh to aid your soul's release. Hear my voice at world's end and arise._

_Hear the sounds of my prayer beads and draw nigh!_

_Brothers, arise from brimstone and fire to aid your cause._

_Come forth, ghosts of outlaws!_

Once again, flames of mana surrounded Anna and began to take shape. After a few moments, a humanoid figure was recognizable before splitting into two parts. The two figures flashed once before two human spirits landed on the ground. They were dressed in black trench coats, black stetsons, cowboy spurs, leather boots, black slacks, white shirts with vests, and had handguns strapped to their waists. One was smaller than the other by and inch and had blond hair poking through his hat. The other had a more chiseled face with short black hair and long sideburns. Just by looking at them, you could tell the were brothers.

Ones that Zach recognized immediately.

"You the shaman we were summoned to help?" the short one asked. Zach nodded slowly. "Good. You look strong enough for us."

"Hey, go easy on the kid," the big one said. "Or you could go back and enjoy the smell of sulfur."

The smaller one shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"You're...." Zach started.

The big brother gave a small smile. "I'm Frank. The goober beside me is my brother Jesse."

"We're the famous James brothers. Well, I was anyway. Frank here got off scot free and charged people to see our house. 'Come see the famous home of Jesse James!'"

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Frank asked his brother.

"Nope," Jesse replied.

The two brothers went to stand beside Zach. He had a look of shock on his face as he stared at the brothers.

"Your up, Kasai."

I stepped forward and waited my turn. Anna once again began to wave her beads around and focus her mana to surround the area. All of us waited for my spirit to show. But after waiting nearly fifteen minutes, I was beginning to wonder what was wrong.

"Something's up," Yoh whispered beside me.

"What?"

"It never takes Anna this long to summon a spirit. The most time she ever had to take was five minutes."

"So what's wrong?"

"She's having a hard time finding you match. When that happens, she has to look in more dangerous places."

"Dangerous?"

"She has to look where some demons that almost qualify as gods hold spirits of their choosing. It can be dangerous sometimes because there are good demons and bad."

After another five minutes of waiting, I turned to the twins.

"Hey, Yoh told me this could take a while. Why don't you take your guardian ghosts back to the room so you could get better acquainted?"

"Are you sure?" Maria asked.

"Yeah. It's getting late," I told them. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

The twins and their ghost turned and left, but not before Maria gave me a look of confusion. I just smiled and waved, assuring her that I'll be ok. She nodded and followed her brother back to our room.

Meanwhile, I saw Anna's face begin to twitch and frown as she concentrated. Yoh saw this and walked to her.

"Anna, are you ok?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded, but kept her eyes closed. "I'm still searching. I got a lead on a spirit, but it's deep within a demon god's territory. I'm going to see if I can sneak it out with the god knowing."

Yoh gasped. "Anna, that's dangerous. You know what will happen if you get caught?"

"I know," she said. "But if I'm right, then this spirit will power Kasai to your level. And he won't even have to read the Tome of the Shaman."

"The what?" I asked.

"It's Hao's book on increasing your mana," Yoh explained.

"I thought that wasn't possible. Niishi taught me that the Earth only gives shamans a certain amount of furyoku and that there were no ways of increasing it."

"Well, Hao found a way," Anna said. "And just about mastered all of his techniques so-" her eyes snapped open and her face paled. "I was spotted!"

Yoh paled as well. "What do we do?"

Anna was silent before gasping. "He's here! On your knees, NOW!"

We dropped to our knees. I didn't know what was going on and was about to ask Yoh when I felt it. Something had entered the clearing. The air around me grew cold and I could see my breath. This spirit had power, a lot of it. In fact, besides the King of Spirits, I never had felt this much power in my life. If I compared it to Hao's, there would be no contest. This being would crush Hao in an instant.

Black flames formed a pentagram circle in the ground just in front of us. Instead of warmth, they felt like ice. No, it was worse. It felt like death.

A humanoid figure began to rise out of the circle. It looked bigger than normal humans, dressed in white robes. A forest of white hair surrounded it's head, with two purple, curved horns poking through. It's eyes were jet-black with no pupils. Black symbols covered it's arms with skin that oddly enough was purple. But then I saw the knife. Clenched in it's teeth was what looked like an ordinary kunai. But when I saw it, I immediately knew who this being was. I seen him in rough texts that Niishi showed me.

I now know why Anna asked us to bow. She had just summoned the Shinigami, the god of Death. The Reaper.

The Death god turned his head to look at his surroundings. A look of anger crossed his face when he saw where he was. Then he spotted us on the ground.

**Why have you summoned me?**

I immediately shivered. Unlike the King of Spirits, this god only had on voice and sounded completely evil. It felt like the life was being sucked out of me when it spoke.

"I'm sorry, my lord," Anna said. "I was only looking for a spirit suitable for this shaman for the second round of the tournament."

_Thanks a lot Anna! Make him focus on me why don't you!_

Death turned to me and I froze. It felt like his eyes were looking into my soul.

**Ah, I see. Yes, his soul does match one of my captors. However, you entered my domain without my permission. For that, you must be punished.**

"Wait, sir...um...my lord," I stuttered out. "Don't punish her. She was just looking for my guardian ghost so I can help the Asakura's defeat Hao.

Once I said Hao's name, Death immediately looked furious.

**Curse him! For more than a millennium, that accursed creature as avoided my wrath. I've wanted to get my dagger on him since the day he was born. **

I was now confused. Why would the Shinigami be angry at Hao? But then I remembered what Yoh's dad told his son at the canyons. That Hao was able to reincarnate his soul once every thousands years.

Yeah, I guess if you were immortal like that, you would piss off a god.

Death turned back to Anna. **Is what the boy speak true? That you want to use my captor to destroy Hao? **Anna nodded.

**Then maybe we can help each other out. How about a deal? I will let you use my greatest warrior as your guardian ghost if you swear you will destroy Hao with him. However, there will be a price. **

I turned to Yoh and Anna. They were nodding at me furiously, wanting me to agree with whatever the Death god was asking. I guess only they knew the full extent of his power and knew not to screw with it.

"I accept."

**Then rise, my new warrior and accept your role. When my champion, your blood spirit, was born, he was forced to take a heavy burden. His life was sacrificed to save the lives of others, causing him to lose his humanity. He grew up alone and as an outcast to others. When he died, he sacrificed his life to protect others from his burden, causing him to become mine for all eternity.**

**Now, if you want him as your guardian ghost, you must accept the same burden.** **You must be.... a sacrifice.**

With that, the Death god removed the dagger from his move and rushed forward. Before I had time to act, he thrust the point into my stomach.

Cold fire erupted from the point, making me scream in agony. Never before had I felt so much pain. It seemed to be ten times worse than Hao's fire. It was like hot lead was being poured in my stomach.

A few agonizing seconds later, I blacked out from the pain. But not before the Death god left one final thought.

**Good luck, boy. I hope you can handle this burden. If not, you could destroy the world**.

* * *

In my mind, all I could see were flashes of forests, villages, war, death, and destruction. Playing over and over again were ancient battles between countries and villages. Samurai and ninjas fought against each other with swords, knifes, and what looked like the elements themselves. Fire would race across the ground, water would swirl from rivers and lakes, earth would rise in mounds, wind would blow at hurricane force and lightning would strike from anywhere except the sky. It seemed to go for eternity before the images faded to black.

From the darkness, I felt a new presence in my body. It was like a second mind had merged with mine and laid in the quiet dormant of my soul. But I knew it was there.

"**So this is my new container. I must admit I'm impressed."**

The voice sounded male, it was deep and radiated evil. And the power. It seemed to rival the Shinigami's but only by a little. I knew for a fact that this wasn't the Reaper's power. This being seemed to have something else that seperated the two. A power I had never seen.

"**Watch yourself, boy. Whenever I get a chance, I will take over your body and once again rid the world of your kind. So you better keep your guardian ghost close."**

I didn't have time to think before I finally felt myself drift back to reality. As my mind began to focus, I could see sunlight peeking through my eyelids. It was a moment before I opened my eyes and gazed around.

Somehow, I was back in the room I shared with the twins. The morning light was rising over the window, telling me it must have been around ten in the morning. The twin's futon's were packed up and laying on the floor beside me.

I sat up and stretched. Then, shifted my body side to side, trying to get the kinks out of my spine. Every time my bones popped, I let a groan of relief.

For some reason, I felt.....great. I felt re-energized and rested. I haven't felt this great for nearly a year. There were no aches or pulled muscles. And there wasn't even in pain from when the Shinigami stabbed me in the stomach.

Oh, crap. My guardian ghost.

I hopped up and hurried downstairs to look for my friends and their ghosts. Or mine at least. But when I got to the sitting room, there was no one there. No spirits, humans, or even a note. I did spot people in the streets heading in one direction. Everyone was talking excitedly and a few people were even running. Through the chattering, I was able to listen in.

"First fight of the tournament..."

"...hope it's a good match...."

"...members of Hao's team.."

I felt my jaw drop. The first match of the second round was today? So soon? And against Hao's followers?

I pity that poor team, I shook my head. It was then I heard the twin's

"If he doesn't wake up within the hour, we'll be disqualified," Zach said from outside.

The twins walked through the door, wearing their battle outfits and their guardian ghosts right behind them. "Just have faith. Anna said he would wake up soon and..." Maria spotted me. "Jake! You're ok!" She rushed forward and enveloped me in a hug.

"About time!" Zach yelled, grabbing my shoulder. "We were wondering when you were going to wake up."

"What do you mean?" I asked and released Maria. "What happened last night?"

The twins frowned. "Last night?! You've been asleep for three days!"

"NANI?!?! Three days?" That explained why my body felt so great. It got the rest it so badly needed.

"And to top it off, our first shaman fight is in an hour," Jake finished.

I felt my mouth drop open. I rushed upstairs and hurried into my battle outfit that I kept in my closet. With my new body and adrenaline, I was back downstairs withing a minute.

"Let's go!" I yelled while pulling on my jacket. "We've got precious time and none-"

"Jake, haven't you noticed?" Maria asked. I gave her a confused look before she pointed to my right hand.

"Look," I said, pointing a finger at the twins. "We don't have time to-" Then I noticed what Maria was talking about. I was using my injured hand and I didn't even know it.

I looked at it awe. The burns on it had almost completely healed. Sure, there was a little bit of scarring, but no red, angry marks or scabs. I had full use of all my fingers and could flex all my muscles without flinching.

I turned to the twins. "But...how?"

"Anna told us something happened to you with the ritual," Maria explained. "Something about having regenerative powers and other stuff I didn't understand. She didn't go into the full details of your 'accident' as she put it, but that everything would be explained by your guardian ghost when you woke up."

I snapped back to reality. "Where is my new spirit ally anyway?"

Zach pointed through the window towards the Shaman Council HQ, which was a cave in a plateau. "He's up on that plateau. He's been there pretty much since he arrived here, but he always came back to check on you at night."

I nodded and turned to walk out the door. "So our match starts in an hour?" The twins nodded. "Ok. Go ahead and head to the stadium. I'll go get my guardian ghost and meet you there. And don't worry, I'll be on time."

But before I could make it out the door, Zach grabbed my arm. "There's something you should know. Anna told us that because he was in Limbo for so long, he has lost his memories. The only thing he remembers right now is his name."

"But Anna told us that he will regain a few memories with time," Maria added. "So don't rush him and go with the flow."

I nodded and hurried out the door. As I dodged the crowed, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of ghost I had. The Shinigami said that he was his most powerful warrior, but demons could be tricky sometimes. He didn't know whether to believe them or not. Another thing was his hand. Maria said he had somehow healed his own hand with some new power he had. One that he had no clue how to control it. And of course, my new guardian ghost. His memories were lost, but could be regained according to Anna. But it made me wonder what kind of secrets he was hiding.

It took me 15 minutes to reach the plateau. There were stairs leading to the top and I took the running, skipping a few with every stride. In not time, I was at the top.

I immediately spotted my ghost on the opposite side of the stairs, gazing out over the village. From what I could see, he looked to be a few inches taller than me, standing around six foot even. He had on black pants that seemed to be cutoff above the ankle and wrapped in tape. He was wearing a pair of battle-size sandles. He was covered in a red, battle jacket with flames running along the bottom, similar to my jacket. And from what I could see, he had blond, spiky hair that had a bandana wrapped around it.

I walked up to him, all of sudden, feeling very intimidated. Here I was, about to meet my new guardian ghost, just shortly before my first match.

"So you're my shaman, is that correct?" the ghost asked in Japanese. From the way he sounded, he was about in his mid-twenties. Just grown up, but not quite in his prime.

"Yes," I replied.

"The Shinigami and _Itako _told me what I was required to do when I was summoned back to the mortal plan. I am to assist you with the second round of the Shaman tournament and help you defeat Asakura Hao. Right?"

Again, I said yes.

"Well, then. Let's waste no time. If I'm not mistaken, we've got a match today! And the two of us are going to kick everyone's ass from here to the next world!

I had to smile. He went from a serious ghost to a tough punk in just seconds.

"Believe it!" I yelled with equal enthusiasm.

The man laughed out loud. "I like you. There's no doubt that we're going to be friends. What's your name?"

"Sawyer-Asakura Kasai," I replied.

"Kasai, huh? Well, I am afraid my name is all I can tell you about me. I can't seem to remember much of anything besides that." He turned around and I finally saw his face. The headband he wore had a metal plate with a symbol engraved into the metal. He had cerulean colored eyes and a chiseled face. Underneath the jacket, he wore a dark orange shirt

But what got my attention was the three whisker marks on each side of his face.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Well, there you have. My story has now become a crossover. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I'm sorry if I had offended anyone with summoning the James brothers from Hades. I thought it would be a nice touch for Zach. I also got an idea for his spirit mediums and his Giant Oversoul. Any suggestions will be helpful.


	11. First Fight

Ch. 11

As we walked back to the stadium, I could tell that it was going to be an interesting adjustment to have Naruto as a guardian ghost. From the past years working with Kumo, I had adjusted to his discipline as a warrior. Kumo was raised with a strict regime as a soldier and assassin. He would always berate me if I ever acted up or goofed off. So my guardian ghost was like my own drill instructor.

But Naruto was really unique. He had this unusual carefree personality. He laughed whenever I made a joke and would even try make some of his own. As we walked down the street, he would run to each store to look through the windows and sometimes would ask me what it was.

"That's an arcade, Naruto," I told the excited ghost. It was like dealing with a child instead of an adult. It was actually kind of funny.

"Wow, technology sure has advanced since my time," Naruto told me as he came back from the window. "I can't wait to see it all."

"By the way, what year do you come from anyway," I asked him was continued down the street. I saw his smile disappear and he looked solemn.

"I don't know. I'm beginning to have some recollection of where I came from, but it's all jumbled together. All I can see is flashes of fighting and war."

"That's weird, I had the same flashes," I told him. "Back when the Reaper stabbed me in the stomach. I saw memories of armies as well."

Naruto's eyebrows rose. "Really? Well, that _itako _did say that our spirits were similar. Maybe we exchanged memories because of that. I can see part of your memories, too."

"You can?"

"Yeah. You were raised in an orphanage since birth. Your first friend was a ghost named Hana. You discovered you were a shaman when you were 12 and were trained by an Asakura since then."

"Wow, I've never heard of this before," I said in awe. "We're beginning to bond already without even intergrating.". We could be discovering something completely new about spirt guardians.

"JAKE!!" yelled a voice that made both of us jump. I looked up to see that we had arrived at the stadium. Spectators were lined up at several entrances, awaiting their turn to find a seat. The voice came from Zach, who was waving frantically at a different entrance with Frank James floating in the air next to him.

"About time, dude," he said as I followed him into the entrance. "Our match is going to began in ten minutes. Just what were you doing, you idiot? Getting a manicure?"

"Hehe. Sorry about that," Naruto said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. It took me a moment to realize he was speaking English. "I saw a lot cool stuff on the way here and kept asking what everything was."

"You couldn't do that while Jake was unconscious?" Frank asked.

"Uh...it never came to mind."

Zach and Frank both rolled their eyes. "Well come on. Maria, Rowdy and Jesse are waiting for us in the stadium grounds."

* * *

"Kasai's late," Yoh said with a worried tone. "I hope he doesn't get disqualified."

"He'll be here," Anna said. "He wouldn't miss this for the world."

"So what's up with this guy, Yoh?" asked a blue-haired shaman who was sitting in the row of seats below Yoh and Anna. "I mean, I know you said this guy's family because of the King of Spirits, but can you really trust him enough for Anna to give him and his team new guardian ghosts? I haven't even met the guy!"

"I agree with the idiot," said Ren. He ignored the cries of protest from his fellow shaman. "For all we know, this guy could only be using you to gain power and join Hao's team. I think that this is all a big mistake."

"Big mis-steak!" said a dark-skinned shaman beside Ren. He was dressed up in a steak costume.

"ENOUGH OF YOUR JOKES, JOCO!" screamed Ren has he tried to stab Joco with his quan do. "I guarantee you're going to regret this, Asakura."

"Ren, Horohoro. Relax. I've talked to my dad about this and he agrees that we should trust him like family," Yoh said.

"I agree with Master Yoh, shorty-pants, said Ryu. "I can tell this team will help us out in our quest to beat Hao."

"Me, too," said Faust as he held his wife's hand. "He was very polite and courteous with us when we met in the mining town a week ago."

The cheering of the crowd broke their conversation as Hao's minions walked onto the field. Yoh knew who they were, thanks to Manta and his laptop. They were a powerful group, but didn't have the proper control for Giant Spirit Control. They consisted with a miners theme. All three of them were wearing mining helmets and a dirty pair of overalls. Their spirit mediums were a jackhammer, a lantern, and a pick.

"That's the team their facing?" Horohoro asked.

"Don't be fooled by their appearance," Anna snapped, causing Horohoro to cringe. "This is a test run for them. If they can win, Hao will let them join his shaman group."

"They must be good if Hao's letting them join," Manta said. "He doesn't mess around with anyone unless they have some talent."

"So where's your cousin at?" Ren asked.

There was a polite applause as Maria walked onto the field with her ghost slithering beside her. Another ghost, a cowboy, was walking/floating a few steps behind her.

"That's Maria, one of Kasai's teammates," said Manta.

Maria was wearing her long leather skirt with the sides slit to show glimpses of her thighs. She had on a long-sleeved pink shirt underneath a brown, buffalo-skin vest. Her long, brown hair was in a single braid down her back and was wearing a straw, cowgirl hat. Her whip was strapped to her skirt. Even from the stands, everyone could see her scowl from all of the catcalls.

"I'll say it again. Where's your cousin at?"

"Who cares?" Ryu yelled outloud. Everyone turned to Ryu to see that he had hearts in his eyes. "She's a beauty!"

"Wow! She's hot!" Horohoro yelled as well. "Your cousin's really lucky to have her on his team."

"I-I wouldn't know," Yoh said nervously with a glance at Anna.

"You better not," Anna growled.

"So the coward ran off," Ren muttered. "I always knew he was a weakling."

"Give Kasai a minute," Yoh said. "Besides, he beat you didn't he."

"Don't remind me!"

"There he is," Manta announced. The arena applauded once again as Kasai, his friend, another cowboy ghost, and a ghost with a blonde hair and a red jacket.

Zach was wearing a pair of black, wrangler jeans, a long-sleeved blue shirt underneath a dark, vest. Even though it was hot, he was wearing a black, leather trench coat that dropped to his His hair was tucked underneath his black stetson. On his hips were _two_, antique six-shooters.

Jake/Kasai was wearing a pair of combat boats and black cargo pants with shuriken and kunai holster on his thighs. He was also wearing a red, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of combat gloves. But what surprised everyone was the battle jacket he was wearing. It was similar to his ghost's, but it was black with red flames instead. There were also spider-web designs stretched all over the material and had an outline of spider on the back.

"They look more impressive than the mining team," said Faust.

"That's Kasai? The one with the cowboy hat?" Joco asked.

"No, he's the one with blonde hair and black jacket," Yoh told him. He forgot Joco hasn't met him yet.

"He's cute," said a quiet voice. Everyone turned in shock to a pink-haired girl sitting a few seats down from the group. Tamara turned red with embarrassment when realized she said that out loud.

"Whoa. I never knew Tamara's face could be brighter than her hair," Horohoro said.

* * *

"Master Hao! Look!" yelled Opacho. He and Hao were sitting on the edge of the stadium at the very top.

"Yes, I see. It looks like Kasai found a new guardian ghost."

"Doesn't matter," Opacho said smugly. "He'll burn like all the others."

Hao laughed. "Wow, Opacho. I never knew you could be so bloodthirsty."

* * *

"Nice of you two to show up," Maria hissed angrily at the boys. She was getting real ticked at all the catcalls aimed at her.

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "We got sidetracked by the sights."

"No matter, we're here now. Are you up to a fight?"

I laughed. "After a three-day nap, I'm ready to take on the world."

"I highly doubt it," Zach muttered. "While you've been knocked out, Maria and I have been training nonstop with our ghosts since we got them."

"So how are you two going to fight when you haven't even started on your Oversoul? Or human spirit unity?" asked Jesse with sneer.

"Um...well.." I started. I glanced at Naruto, who looked just as confused as me. "We have no clue."

"Then what's ya'lls plan?" Rowdy asked. "Charge forward without some sort of battle plan?"

Naruto and I looked at each other, then looked back at the snake. "Yes."

"Ugh. Hotheads," Maria mumbled. She then looked across the stadium at the opposing teams, who looked annoyed that they we weren't being intimidated. "So what do you think of those three?"

"Hard to tell by judging only from their spirit mediums," Zach said. "They're keeping their ghosts hidden until the last moment."

"Can they do that?" Naruto asked. I groaned inwardly. I kept forgetting he doesn't have experience in shaman fights.

"Don't worry," I said told him. "We can handle anything they can dish out. They won't be able to sneak it on us, despite them hiding their ghosts from us."

"Then I'll disappear, too," said Naruto. Before any of us could say anything, he shimmered and vanished.

"Uhh....there was actually no need for that, Naruto," I said, completely shocked..

"Well, he's certainly unusual," muttered Frank. "But he's got a good grasp on his spiritual powers after only being in the physical plane for a few days."

"Oh, by the way, I saw our team name on the bulletin board," said Maria with a grin. "When I asked Yoh to translate what it meant, I knew it was good choice."

"I thought it was ok," Zach muttered. "We could have done a lot worse."

"Hey!" came a shout from the other side of stadium. The group turned to see the miner in the middle, a six-foot, five-inch man with scar across his right eye. He was holding a pick axe. "When are you three going to shut up and get started?!"

"We're waiting for you to come to your senses and forget joining Hao's team!" Zach shouted back. "Maybe you should loosen your helmets to continue the circulation to your brains?"

"You little snot!" bellowed the guy on the left, who looked to be about eight feet tall and was built like a mountain. He was holding the lantern in his right hand. "You will not speak about our great leader like that!"

"Great leader?" asked Jesse. "Who is this guy? One of those freaky cult leaders?"

"I heard that!" yelled last member of the miner team. He was holding a jackhammer under his arm, despite being very small and wiry. "We're going to bury you in the ground!"

"Just try it!" I yelled back, taking a few steps forward.

"Whoa! Hold on, Asakura!" yelled a voice I knew too well. Their was a whirlwind of furyoku and Oxy appeared garbed in his Officiator robes. "You can't start until I say so, pal."

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Oxy was last person I expected to meet today.

Oxy smiled. "I have the honor of being your referee for this match."

"So you're here to keep from killing each other?" Maria asked.

"Nope. Killing is allowed, although it's discouraged. I'm just here to declare a winner when it's all over," he said with a grin.

I think everyone in the stadium sweatdropped at that announcement.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman, it's time for the official start of the second round of the Shaman Tournament. In honor of the first match, the Shaman Council has allowed the first match to be held here at the stadium for your viewing pleasure. After this match, all other shaman fights will take place in various areas around the village."

"Aren't we lucky?" I muttered. "This is a chance for everyone to learn our moves and skills."

"So if we win, we'll be the team with the biggest disadvantage," Zach said.

"Watcha mean 'if' we win," Rowdy hissed. "We're goin' to win this, no doubt abou' it."

Maria chuckled. "You better listen to him. In the short time we've been together, I've learned not to get on his bad side." She unfurled her whip and held it in her hand.

"Gotcha," Zach grinned as he unsnapped his holsters.

I smiled and pulled my kunai out of my holster.

"Now, let the first match between Team Underworld and Team Honoo...begin!!"

I reached forward with my mind and mana to call forth Naruto. I saw Rowdy, Jesse and Frank begin to switch to their hitodama forms. But before we even started integration, something interrupted us.

"Wait!" We looked forward to see the skinny picking up his jackhammer and walk forward. "There's no need for my team to dirty their hands with something like this. I'll take you all on at once!"

"Like you actually need to get any more dirt," Maria scoffed at the little guy. I could understand that, seeing the guy's face was smudged with mud and what looked like coal dust.

"I don't need to take that from some top-heavy cowgirl!" the guy shouted back.

I swear I felt the air get twenty degrees colder when he finished that sentence. Maria froze with a hard look in her eyes. Rowdy's rattle intensified as well. His eyes changed from round pupils to slits.

"Jim, spirit form!" the man shouted. The earth around us begin to shake. There was a crack in the dirt at the skinny guy's feet and what looked like a giant serpent rose from the ground. The guy jumped on it and rose into the air.

The creature had to be about 70-feet long and covered in slime. When it finally stopped rising from the ground, I got a good look at an......earthworm?

"Take the out, Rocky!" yelled the skinny guy's friends.

"Now, merge with the jackhammer," Rocky yelled, jamming the object into the creature's head. There was a bright flash of light. When it died down, the earthworm was covered in what looked like steel plates shaped like scales. Instead of a normal worm-head, there was only a giant mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. The worm was still the same size, but I could tell it was just a normal Oversoul form, not a Giant Oversoul.

"This is Jim, my spirit ally," Rocky bragged. "His skin is now covered with strongest form of steel that's combined with iron ore. His teeth are diamond tipped and unbreakable. You'll be lucky enough to scratch him, much less break my spirit control."

Maria was still trembling with fury. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. Let's rumble, Rowdy! Spirit form!"

"Right!" hissed the snake as his form shifted into his hitodama form in Maria's hand. The form was shaped like his head with his fangs bared and a pink aura surrounding him.

"Now, into the whip!" Maria merged Rowdy with her leather whip. I've watched Maria do this dozens of times, but what happen next shocked me.

The moment Rowdy touched the whip, a blinding, pink blaze of mana engulfed me and Zach. The light was so bright that I turned away from it with my eyes closed. Even then, it still hurt. After a few moments, the light began to die down and I felt it was safe to look.

And when I saw Maria's new Oversoul, I actually began to get a little scared.

Maria's whip went from being 12-feet long to nearly 50-feet long. It was still covered by her pink furyoku, but instead of leather, the whip was made up of long-steel chain. Five inch blades serrated every single link in the chain. The end of the whip ended with two, fang shaped blades nearly six-feet long. Finally, the mana surrounding her spirit medium was shaped like rough dragon scales, instead of the Rowdy's usual scales. And if I looked closely enough, I could almost see a pair of slit, pupils near the fangs.

What surprised me the most was the way Rowdy and Maria worked together. She had perfect control over her Oversoul, but Rowdy seemed to swim through the air on his own, like the wild animal he was.

"So, are you ready to fight?" Maria asked. Her Oversoul shifted and took a protective stance around her. It looked like a rattlesnake in a coiled position, ready to strike at anything that moved.

"Fine! Jim, attack!" yelled Rocky. The earthworm reared up and roared, it's voice echoing throughout the arena. It charged forward with its teeth bared. It was like a freight train barreling towards her.. Each tooth one was nearly a foot long and glistening with saliva.

However, Maria calmly stood her ground, even with the behemoth charging forward. When I looked closer, I saw that she had her eyes closed. I was about scream at her to open her eyes when Zach grabbed my shoulder.

"She knows what she is doing," he muttered.

I reluctantly nodded and turned back to the battle. At the last moment, Rocky gave a yell of triumph and Maria opened her eyes.

The two blades at the end of her Oversoul quickly sunk into the ground. The rest of the Oversoul snapped forward, propelling Maria straight into the air just a second before the worm's crashed into the spot Maria was just standing in. The worm burrowed into the ground to reappear seconds later in a different spot.

Maria flipped through the air before straightening out. She swung her Oversoul once around her head before whipping forward to Rocky. The last few feet wrapped around Jim's neck, the fangs acting as an anchor. With a quick jerk, Maria flew towards Jim at the speed of a bullet. She flipped forward and swung her leg into an ax kick. Her heel connected with Jim's head. Normally, I wouldn't think a 130-pound girl would be able to cause any damage to a 60-foot, 2 ton steel earthworm with a simple kick.

So you could imagine my surprise when the worm jerked from the kick and landed flat on the ground, creating a crater on impact. I think everyone's jaws fell to the ground.

"Whoa, where did she learn that?" I asked in awe.

Zach chuckled. "She actually taught that kick herself after watching you do it during your fights."

* * *

"Holy Crap," yelled Horohoro. "Where did she get that kind of strength?"

"Strong and beautiful," mumbled Ryu with hearts in his eyes. "I'm in love."

"How did she get so strong," Yoh whispered to Anna.

"It's the bond she has with her spirit," Anna stated. "When I searched for their spirits, I was looking for spirits that, as you say, complete them."

"Complete them?"

"You could say that," said a voice next to Yoh. He turned around to see his father, Mikihisa, standing behind him. "Anything that is alive has a soul. Humans, animals, trees. Anything that grows is alive and is filled with mana from the Great Spirit and the Earth. And when any sentient being dies, the mana that resides within that being is recycled back into the earth. Then, that same mana is used to create new life."

"So at one point in time, the furyoku that resided in those three spirits when they were alive is a match to Team Honoo?" asked Yoh.

His father nodded. "Exactly. And when they are used in sync, they can become more powerful than ever before."

* * *

"You wench!" Rocky yelled as Jim coiled back up. "Your going to pay for that!"

Jim coiled straighter and reared his head back.

"**Diamond Needle**!" roared Rocky. Jim snapped his head towards Maria. From its mouth came a spray of needles, each one the size of a dagger.

But Maria was already gone. She was in the air a second before the needles hit the ground, embedding themselves halfway into the dirt. Then, I felt my stomach drop when I realized danger Maria was in while she was in the air. Apparently, so did Rocky.

"I've got you know!" cackled Rocky. Jim's head raised to Maria and fired another spray.

However, Maria twirled her whip repeatedly in a circle in front of her. In a split second, Maria's Oversoul was blocking every needle as it swirled like a pink vortex.

When Jim's attack was over, she whipped her Oversoul behind her head and prepared for her attack.

"My turn," Maria smiled. She jerked her Oversoul forward, the fang's rushing towards the underside of Jim's metal body.

"**Serpent's Bite!**" she yelled. The two blades at the end of Maria's Oversoul screamed through the air. They struck the worm's belly, on the top half of the body. There was a long clang as the blades ricochet off the stomach and deflected back to Maria.

"Ha! I told you nothing could penetrate Jim's steel skin!" Rocky laughed.

"Just testing you theory. Your right," said Maria.

But judging by the smile I saw on her face said she wasn't worried at all. It didn't waver as she charged forward again.

Blow by blow, the two shaman competitors fought for dominance in the match. Jim fired several dozen needles, but Maria kept dodging them each time. And whenever she had a chance, she would whip her Oversoul's fangs onto Jim's neck. And every time, the blades would ricochet of the skin.

Eventually, both fighters began to show signs of fatigue after a few minutes. It became even more obvious when one of Jim's needles finally found its mark.

"Aahh!" Maria cried out. She grasped her left thigh with her free hand. One of the diamond daggers was grasped between her fingers.

"Bind her!" said Rocky. Jim shot forward and wrapped its body around Maria. He then began to raise its coils to his mouth.

"I've got you now," Rocky gloated. "Any last words before my guardian ghost has you for dinner?"

I was about to charge forward and end the guy's existence right there, but Zach held me back once again.

"Let me go!" I yelled. "She's going to get killed!"

"Calm down, dude. Maria's always got a plan. Don't you remember?" he told me. Then he chuckled. "Look, she's grinning."

I calmed down and looked at Maria. Indeed, there was a smile on her face.

"Yeah, take a look at your Oversoul's neck," Maria told Rocky.

Rocky glanced down. Then growled. I followed his gaze. There, on Jim's neck, were several cracked, steel plates.

Then I remember Maria's attacks. She struck repeatedly on the same spot for the last five minutes.

"So you cracked my Oversoul. Big deal. You still haven't broken my spirit control. And now, you can think about your mistake for all eternity."

"I don't think so," Maria stated. In a flash, Rowdy sprung from his position and began to wrap around Jim's neck.

"**Coil Shredder**!" Maria yelled. With a flick of her Oversoul, Rowdy began to pull away from Jim.

Nearly 40 feet of Rowdy's had wrapped around Jim's neck. So when he began to pull back, the serrated blades on the chain links began to grind and saw against Jim's steel skin, exactly where the cracks in steel where. The friction to two metals began to heat and glow at a rapid pace. When the chain length reached its limit, Maria's Oversoul pulled as fast as it could before returning to Maria.

The earthworm didn't move for a few seconds. The only signs of life was the glowing of red steel around Jim's neck. Then, when the wind shifted, Jim's head fell forward from its body. When it hit the ground, Jim's body exploded in a white cloud, causing Maria to flew through the air towards us. I leapt into the air and caught her.

"Thanks, Jake," she smiled as we landed.

"No problem," I told her.

Rocky, meanwhile, was fuming. When his spirit control broke, his jackhammer fell to the ground in pieces. Jim's spirit form looked fearful at his shaman's angry face and burrowed back into the ground.

"You're going to pay for this," he cursed at Maria. He then turned on his heel and went to join his teammates.

"What a sore loser," Zach said. "Oh, and you can put my sister down now."

"I'm good," Maria grinned and put my arms around my neck.

"Uuhhh..." I tried to say something, but all the blood rushing to face seemed to fry my brain.

Zach palmed his face on his hands. "Not in front a stadium full of people."

"All right! It's my turn!" yelled the huge man on miner's team. "I'll prove to Hao that I'm not a weakling like Rocky."

"Shut up, Slate!" yelled Rocky.

The fat guy, Slate, walked to the center of the stadium. He unlatched his weapon from his belt: a lantern. It was one of those old-fashioned candle lanterns, with reflective walls and a small, glass door.

"What are you going to do? Blind us?" Zach asked.

"I'll do more than that, you punks!" yelled Slate. He put his lantern on the ground and raised his arms above his head. "I summon my partner to the field!"

There was a flash of light that illuminated the field, then a green glowing orb was summoned in his hands. It shifted and writhed in the air before it began to take shape. Well, actually, all it did was stretch out from a orb into what looked like a ....

Gloworm?

"You guys are really into the bug thing, aren't ya?" Jesse asked.

"Well, they seem to be underground a lot. Maybe they don't get out and into the sun very much," suggested Frank.

"Shut up!" roared Slate. "Shimmer, into the lantern!" He put his hand on the worm before pushing down into the lantern. The integration shimmered with green furyoku and began to change shape. Slate picked up his medium as it green longer and longer. Before long, Slate's spirit medium changed from a lantern to a seven-foot long bazooka. The green furyoku surrounding it had ridges like a worm's body, ending with two yellow eyes near the sights.

Slate held the medium to his shoulder. "This is my Glow Cannon. It can fire furyoku rockets that can seek out my opponent's mana. Each rocket has enough force to blow through a steel-frame wall."

I set Maria on the ground and began to walk towards him, set on having my turn at the shaman fight. But before I took two steps, Zach grabbed my arm.

"Let me take care of this. Maria needs medical attention," said Zach. He turned back to Slate. "Besides, I want to fight spirit gun to spirit gun."

"Can you Cowboy Cannon handles his bazooka?" I asked.

Zach faced me again with a smile on his face. "Who says I'm using a cannon?"

My eyebrows rose. "What?"

Zach said nothing and begin to walk towards the center of the stadium. The James brothers walking on either side of him.

"Good! We finally get to throw down," Frank said with glee in his eyes.

"I can't wait," Jesse said with a maniacal grin on his face.

Zach stopped and pushed the sides of his jacket open, revealing his two six-shooters.

"Hey, where did you get a second gun?" I yelled.

"It's my back-up medium, just incase my first one broke," he yelled back. "Now, Frank, Jesse! Let's rumble! Spirit form!" He held both arms out with his palms up.

"Yee-haw!" the brothers shouted. Their bodies shifted to their hitodama forms and flew through the air into Zach's hands. Their forms were exactly identical to one another. They both had on cowboy hats and shimmered with blue fire.

"Now, into the pistols!" Zach pushed their spirits into the guns, their forms erupting in a brilliant flash of blue light. He pulled the pistols from their holsters as they grew in size.

At first, I was expecting his new Oversoul to be like his original form with Wyatt Earp. But when Zach's furyoku died down, I felt my jaw drop.

He was actually holding two Oversouls, one on each hand. Each gun was covered in Zach's sapphire mana. But the guns themselves have completely changed form. Instead of revolvers, they grew into what looked like giant 9mm's, but with a updated look. The handles were small enough to fit in his hands, but the barrels and the body had at least grew ten times in size. Each trigger guard had a blade that reached the end of the barrel. The barrel itself had to be at least four inches in diameter.

And if that wasn't enough, he even had braces attached to his arms. They ran from his forearms to the hammer. I'm guessing they helped support the recoil of his shots.

Zach crossed his arms, keeping his new guns on display. "Well, aren't we gonna get started?"

Slate growled and aimed his bazooka towards Zach. "**Glow Blast!**" A green shell of furyoku fired from the barrel. The shell was shaped like a glow worm and acted like a heat-seeking rocket. It zigzagged through the air before zooming straight at my friend.

But Zach just smiled and just shimmered out of sight. The rocket impacted the ground where Zach just stood.

"What the?!" yelled Slate in frustration.

"How did he get that fast," I asked Maria as I tried to watch the match and bandage her hip at the same time.

* * *

"I'm guessing that since Maria got strength, her brother gained speed," Yoh said.

"The twins gained attributes in the areas they needed the most," Mikihisa said. "The brother is a large teen, so being fast is hazard. The sister is smallest of the trio, so gaining strength and power is her newest talent."

"Are you saying girls are not strong?" Anna asked. She had a tick on her forehead and her left eye was twitching.

Mikihisa felt himself beginning to sweat. "Of course not."

* * *

For a few moments, the field was silent. There was nothing but small wind blowing through the stadium as Slate stood his ground, frantically glancing around for Zach. I was beginning think one of his powers was invisibility when he shimmered behind Slate, his guns aimed on his opponent.

"**Desperado Blaster**!" Zach called out. Instead of a cannonball, a stream of furyoku bullets fired from his pistols like a machine gun.(Yes, I know I'm ripping off a Digimon attack.)

Slate heard the attack and jumped out of the way just as the bullets scrapped the ground beside him. When he got cleared, he propped his spirit medium for another shot.

"Glow Blast," he called out. Another rocket fired towards Zach, who leapt into the air. The rocket followed right after him.

However, Zach aimed one his guns to the sky and fired a furyoku bullet. This one was bigger, but flew a lot slower through the air. I was wondering what Zach's plan was when I saw the rocket change course and follow the bullet instead. The two forces impacted and a small explosion caused a shockwave that echoed through the stadium.

Zach landed on the ground and laughed. "The problem with having a mana-seeking rocket is that its going to follow anything that has mana."

"But I aimed it right at you!" yelled Slate. "How can my rocket follow your bullet instead of you?"

Zach smiled. "I pushed a lot of furyoku into that one blast. When I fired it, I intended to be a flare instead of a bullet. This caused a lot of my furyoku to be expelled from that shot. Also, I minimized the amount of furyoku I pushed into my spirit mediums. It was pretty much the least amount I could without breaking spirit control. So basically, there was more mana in my flare than on my weapons."

"Whoa. That was...smart," Maria said in awe.

"Maybe your channeling some your brain power to him," I suggested.

"Well we are twins."

Slate roared and begin fire rocket after rocket towards Zach. Each rocket would either impact the dirt, where Zach would just use his speed to dodge or would fire another flare and the rocket would follow it instead. As many rockets as Slate fired, I began to wonder if the guy was huge because of how much furyoku he had.

Meanwhile, Zach would use his speed to try and fire several rounds at Slate. It was very different to see a change in his strategy. From his previous fights, we would always use his cannon to try and slow his opponents down. Each furyoku cannonball he fired would cause a shockwave that would knock his opponents off-balance, then would finish them off with his Cannonball Blast.

Seeing him use his new speed, he was basically trying to wear his opponent down using his rapid-fire.

The problem was Slate was very agile for a huge guy. It seem like he would dodge Zach's attacks at the last moment and then go right back to firing rockets.

It was like a gun fight that nobody could win.

Then, the two met at the center of the stadium, standing 100 feet apart.

"**Glow Blast**!"

"**Desparado Blaster**!"

The two attacks met in the center of the arena. The explosion kicked up a cloud of dust that engulfed the fans and stadium. For nearly a minute my vision was blocked by the cloud. Then the dust dispersed and the two fighters still stood in the center. Each one was trying to catch his breath.

"Not...bad....for...a kid," Slate huffed.

"You...too," Zach panted.

Slate took a deep breath. "But you've got to remember, this isn't a one-on-one tournament." He suddenly turned his bazooka towards me and Maria. "This is a team fight!" Then fired a rocket.

I grabbed Maria and pushed her behind me. I was about to call Naruto when a giant blast of sapphire furyoku blasted the green rocket. The blasts collided to together, but the instead of exploding, the blue bullet sent the rocket back into the sky, where it exploded safely away from Maria and me. Then, the air shimmered in front of me and Zach appeared.

And the killer intent radiating off my friend was enough to almost suffocate me.

"You're fight is with me," said Zach. The amount of venom and chill in voice was enough to scare everybody in the stadium. "What you just did was unforgivable."

He snapped his arms out away from his body. There was a 'shink' noise and my jaw dropped open in surprise at his latest addition.

The blades that were attached to the barrel and trigger guard just grew nearly two feet in length. He was now holding a pair two, small gun-swords in his hands.

"And now, think about your mistake," Zach muttered as he shimmered from my sight.

The second his disappeared, the wind began to pick up in the arena. Every second that passed, the wind would get stronger and faster. Then, what began to look like a dust devil began to circle Slate. Then it became a small tornado.

Slate began to panic. He tried to run a way, but the wind kept him trapped. He fired a rocket at the wind, but the rocket was deflected and zoomed to the top of the funnel. A few seconds later, his body was picked up and began to flail hopelessly around the funnel.

"**GUN CUTTER CYCLONE!!"** came Zach's voice from the tornado. Slate's body began bounce horribly back and forth in the cyclone. Everyone a few seconds, I would see a gleam of his sword's steel and the clang of metal meeting metal.

Then, just as it started, the cyclone disappeared. Slate's body and pieces of his lantern flew back to his teammates and impacted on the ground. His overalls were in tatters and there were several long cuts on his body. But from what I could tell, the injuries weren't life threatening.

Zach shimmered in the air before, still spinning on his feet. He stopped with his guns at his sides and smiled at us.

"Damn, I'm good," he chuckled. Frank and Jesse disengaged from their mediums and appeared beside him. They both had grins on their faces at their victory.

"Nice job, bro," I said and clapped my hand his shoulder.

"Thanks. And..uhh...thanks for protecting my sister."

I smiled. "Anytime."

The next moment, the entire stadium burst out in applause at Zach's win. It seemed like we had won the crowd to our side instead of Hao's.

But there was still one more person left to fight. And somehow, we all knew this guy was going to be the hardest.

Said guy was gazing at his fallen teammate with disgust on his face. He kicked his still body and began to walk towards us.

"Finish them off, Drake." Rocky told him.

"That's the plan," Drake smiled. He began to twirl his pick-axe in his hands like it was a baton. His scar just made him more demeaning and evil. Something about him was just making my skin crawl.

"This won't take long. I'll finish them off one by one," he said.

At this point, I was ready to fight. After watching my two teammates take on Team Underworld, I was eager to finish it off.

But I had to remember that I was at a disadvantage. While the twins had a few days experience with their guardian ghosts, I just woke up from a three-day coma. My body felt re-energized, but I had no idea how I was going to win this match when I didn't even know what my new Oversoul was going to feel like.

Nevertheless, I stepped forward and met him in the center of the stadium.

"So, where's your guardian ghost?" asked Drake.

"He's around. What about your ghost?" I retaliated.

"Right here."

In a flash of purple light, Drake's guardian ghost appeared behind him. I was expecting another bug-related ghost, but the day seemed to full of surprises because what appeared behind Drake was a giant bat.

But like Drake, this bat gave me the creeps as well. Its fur midnight-black and glimmered in the sunlight. As it hovered in the air, I saw that it had a had a wing span of nearly seven feet. Its ears were perfect triangles the size of beach balls. One weird feature was that it had a long tail with a spade behind.

But what got me nervous was the fangs and eyes. The bat's fangs were nearly seven inches long and hung below its jaw. They reminded me of Rowdy's fangs.

The eyes were blood-red and had no pupils. It was like there was a giant, glass marble was placed in its eyes. That freaked me out the most.

"This is Black Shadow. If you want to believe, he's a descendant Dracula himself. As a clan test, he was suppose to execute at least five people to obtain his power. But, he died when he was killed by a hunter after the village he attacked put a bounty on his head. Afterwards, he haunted several coal mines in the Colorado Rockies. I found him and asked him to be my guardian ghost."

_A descendant of Dracula, huh? That's just great. _

"Now let's get started. Black Shadow! Spirit form and into the pick!" Shadow shifted into a ball of purple light. Before I could even see his form, Drake pushed him into the pick. It erupted into an explosion of light and the pick began to change form. From a tool, it grew to be nearly six feet in length and nearly two feet wide. I couldn't tell what his weapon was, but when the light died down, I swallowed.

His pick had changed to a sword with the blade nearly six feet in length. The sword resembled a bat's wing and was black as night. He was holding onto a single-hand handle with bat head on the bottom.

"Let's get started," said Drake as he pointed sword in a blocking stance.

I took a deep breath, and called out, "Naruto."

The wind picked up and Naruto appeared beside me. His jacket swirled from his summoning and had his arms crossed in front of him. He stood tall and confident.

Yet, the fans didn't think so because as soon as he appeared, they all started laughing nonstop.

I glanced at Naruto and nearly face-faulted. He currently had a bubble coming from his nose and was snoring really loud.

"Naruto!" I yelled. The bubble popped and his head snapped back.

"Who, what, when, where, why!" he stammered out.

I palmed my face. "You fell asleep."

Naruto chuckled nervously and scratched his cheek. "Sorry about that, Kasai. Let's try this again."

Before I could say anything, Naruto disappeared. The crowd began to jeer at me and the Underworld team was chuckling like mad. I just rolled my eyes, silently laughing myself at the ridiculous position I was in.

"Let's go, Naruto," I said loudly, but not with much enthusiasm. Naruto shimmered beside me once again in the same position as before. This time with a determined look on his face. One that said that he meant business.

"I'm ready."

I nodded and held my hand above my head. "Alright then. Spirit form." Naruto's form shifted in ribbons of red energy into my palm. His form shifted into his hitodama form. It looked like his head with spiky hair and his headband.

"Now, integrate with the kunai!" I yelled and pushed Naruto into the my spirit medium.

After nearly a three years of integrating with Kumo, I expected there to be some resistance when I merged my ghost and weapon together. It was always like mixing oil and water together. They always repelled.

But that didn't happen this time. Naruto merged with the kunai like it was air. Like connecting magnets together. This had never happen to me before.

However, when I pushed Naruto into the spirit medium, he just got sucked inside of it like a vacuum. For a moment, nothing happened. I tried to push my furyoku into the kunai, but my Oversoul did not appear. I tried contacting Naruto through the medium but I couldn't feel anything. The jeering became louder as people began to throw things into the stadium at me.

Meanwhile, Drake just stared back at me with cold eyes.

"If you're not going to take this seriously, I'll just end you and your friends existence!" he yelled. He charged forward and swung his blade over his shoulder. I raised my kunai, hoping to block what I could with what I got.

Then, the explosion happened.

* * *

Yoh and his friends stood up from their seats to see what was going on. They saw what happened and wondered why Kasai's Oversoul didn't engage. When they saw Drake was about to attack, the were just about to protest when they were knocked back into their seats by an explosion.

Yoh tried to sit up, but he was pinned by the shockwave that was emitting from the battle. Every time he would try to move, shockwave after shockwave would pulse through the stadium. Not only that, but a blinding red light was emitting from where Kasai was just standing.

"What the hell is that?!" Horohoro yelled from his seat.

"Anna?" Yoh asked his fiancé.

"Kasai's unleashing his power," she said with a grimace.

"All of it?" Yoh gaped.

"No. It's barely even a half."

* * *

The amount of energy pouring from my body was like river flowing during a heavy rainstorm. Drake was thrown back to his teammates at the first shockwave. I could finally feel my connection to Naruto, but the both of us were having a hard time getting my furyoku under control. I must have pushed too much into the start my Oversoul that I overloaded it. It was so bright that I had to close my eyes to keep from blinding myself.

I thought I knew how much furyoku to use with my experience with Kumo. But the amount I used from memory was even too much to handle now. Even the slightest ounce of mana was an overload compared to what it used to be.

And not only that, it felt like something else was in my mana, traveling along with it. The energy traveling through my body was similar to my furyoku, but instead of the usual chilly feeling, it felt like there was fire traveling through my veins. This power felt very familiar for some reason. When I usually felt furyoku, I could tell it came from the energy around me. But somehow, this new energy felt like.....mine.

It took a few moments for the two of us to finally slow the amount of furyoku to a controllable, steady amount. When I opened my eyes, I got the biggest shock of my life. I was gazing at my new Oversoul.

My new blade was nearly twelve feet in length and nearly a foot in width. The blade was straight, instead of a curve like my old sword. The back of the sword unevenly serrated, like a set of teeth that ended with large fang on the tip. On the broadside of the blade, somehow, there was now kanji engraved in the metal. It read 'Sacrificed Shinobi'.

My new Oversoul was a Zanbato.

The sword had to weigh over 100 pounds, but I was holding on to it with one hand like it was a feather.

But the new them to my Oversoul was brand new. The handle I was hanging on to was nearly two feet long and wrapped with leather tape. On the bottom, however, were nine tails sprouting from the handle. Also, where the blade was inserted into the handle, there was a large canine-like head. It looked like a wolf or maybe even a fox judging by the long, square ears on the side. It looked pretty badass from the way it looked like it was swallowing the sword.

The mana surrounding me was still the dark, red color of the setting sun. It shimmered like a raging fire up and down from the tip of my sword to my shoulder. It didn't seem to want to stay still. But then, I realized that it didn't just stop at my shoulder. It seemed my whole body was shimmering with mana, most of it focused on my arm.

Finally, I saw what I believe was the second energy peaking through my furyoku. For just a moment, a flash of blue popped through the red aura. A second later, another flash of blue, then another. I didn't know what it was, but I would have to figure out later after the match.

_Naruto....are you ok?_

It took him a moment to answer_. "I...I'm beginning to remember some things. I'm seeing flashes of my past. But....I can't decipher it."_

_Really?_

_"Not yet. But now, we should focus on our match."_

"Right," I said out loud. I raised my sword in the ready position towards_. _"Now let's get started."

Drakeactually took a step back. The sneer on his face was gone, only to be replaced by determination and....fear?

"What the hell are you?!?!" he screamed at me. "Only Hao has that much power and evil!"

_Evil?_

_"I think I know what he's talking about,"_ said Naruto. _"I'll tell you later. Keep your focus on Drake."_

"I'll destroy you!" Drake yelled and charged forward. He held his sword forward like a spear.

I tensed up, prepared to block his attack. But when I did, Drake seemed to slow down from a sprint to a walk. He was still charging at me, but it was like time had slowed down.

Raising my sword, I jumped forward and blocked his attack_._ Drake then swung around and aimed his blade towards my head. But just like when he was running, his attack seemed to slow down.

I blocked his attack again with ease and then aimed a kick towards his chest. He tried to dodge, but was too slow. The force was enough to send him flying back several yards away. When he landed and took a breather, time kicked back to normal speed.

Drake took his time getting up and had to use his sword to help him up. However, he didn't take his eyes of me, which grew wider each second.

"Wha....wha...what is that?" he growled. I didn't know what he was talking about. But I was too focused to notice that he wasn't staring at me. He was staring at something above my head.

* * *

The mana surrounding Kasai's was moving at a rapid pace around his head. If anybody in the stands looked closely, they could see that swirling mana was made up of nine tails. And for the experienced shamans sitting in the stands, they could sense that there was something dark about those tails. However, Kasai didn't seem to notice.

Yoh and his friends did.

"Anna, exactly is that?" Yoh asked. "Those tails seem to be a part of his furyoku, but they're not being controlled by Kasai at all."

"I know. Those tails are part of the burden he carries."

* * *

"What are those, Master Hao?" asked Opacho. He turned to see his master with an expression of confusion on his face.

"I have no idea," he told his friend.

* * *

_I can't be that scary, can I? _I asked Naruto.

_"I can't be sure. Maybe he's- watch out!"_ Naruto screamed.

I turned to see Drake swing his sword behind him. His eyes were wide with fear and determination as he swung his sword forward in a sideways arc.

"**Dark Echo**," he called. Racing towards me was a wave of purple furyoku, similar to my Spirit Wave.

I turned my sword sideways and grabbed the flat side of the blade. My intent was to block his attack with the side of my sword. But before the wave could reach me, my furyoku reached out from my sword and neutralized Drake's attack before it could even reach. The red mana pretty much just swallowed it up.

_Naruto? Did you do that?_

_"I think so. I can't be sure"_

I didn't dwell on it, though. I had to prepare for my counterattack.

"My turn," I said as I swung my blade behind me for my signature move. I powered what I believed would be a right amount and swung my blade forward.

"**Seirei Shougekiha**," I called out.

But when I released my furyoku, there was a surge of both my mana and that new energy I felt earlier. That power seemed to stretch the veins and burn like fire. The pain brought me to my knees before I could finish my attack. The wave of mana I unleashed was sent off-course and flew into the sky.

Judging by the size of it, I'm kinda of glad it was sent off-course. The new Spirit Wave was nearly three times as large as my old one and flew twice as fast. When it flew into the sky, it flew into the clouds and completely evaporated them.

No doubt that I completed the attack, I would have destroyed some of the stadium and many of its spectators.

I tried to stand up, but another surge of power kept me down. This time, I could see it. During a surge, parts of the mana that surrounded me would turn purple. And when that power extended beyond my mana, it changed to a bright blue.

_What is that? Naruto, what's happening to me?_

_"I think....I think that when we merged, my presence unlocked your chakra gates."_

_My what?! What the hell is chakra?"_

_"Chakra is the energy from your body, not from the Great Spirit like your furyoku is. It's hurting you because your pathways are being re-opened and because of your inexperience._

_Can you help?_

_"I can try. But you it may leave you vulnerable."_

There was a moment of silence before I felt the pain begin to slowly fade away. But as it did, my sword shrank to be about nine-feet long. The mana around me began to slow down as well.

I sighed and stood up, holding my sword in a blocking stance. "Now, where were we?"

Drake seemed to gains some of his courage back as he charged forward with his sword raised. When I tensed, Drake began to slow down again. Not as slow as before though, but nevertheless, I charged forward to meet him and our blades clashed.

I blocked each one of his attacks. Drake was a trained swordsman, but he didn't have the same flexibility as me. Just when he thought he gain the upper hand with a strike, I would dodge at the last moment, just to anger him and make him lose his focus.

However, when I tried to gain the upper hand, a surge of chakra would disrupt my concentration and cause me to grow weak. Drake would try to retaliate, but I would dodge once again.

I knew Naruto was trying to stop the surges, but somehow, they would sneak right past him.

_"Kasai, you might want to finish this up as soon as you can. The Oversoul was meant to channel your furyoku, not your chakra."_

_Right._

I blocked Drake's next assault with my Oversoul, pushed our weapons to the ground and gave him a sidekick to his head. Drake flew through the air, flipped several times, and landed on his back. He stayed there for a few seconds before using his sword to prop him back to his feet.

"All right. Time to finish this off," I said as I put my sword in front of me. I charged my Oversoul with as much furyoku as I could with losing control. The sword once again grew to be 12-feet long.

Then, I raised my sword over my head and brought it down in a vertical slice. Somehow, the idea of the attack just popped into my head.

**"Kitsune's Fury!"** I called out. A pillar of furyoku erupted from my Oversoul and sent it towards Drake. When the pillar got halfway to him, it broke off into nine separate energy waves shaped like tails.

Drake tried to hit each tail with a **Dark Echo**, but only managed to stop three before the others slammed into him. An explosion soon followed of red furyoku, his body was illuminated by the red light. He hovered in the air for a second before falling to the ground. He was motionless as his Oversoul disengaged beside him.

"And the winner is....Team Honoo!" Oxy said from the sidelines.

The stadium erupted in cheers for my team's victory. We've seem to have won them over to our side now.

Maria and Zach appeared at my sides. "That was awesome!" They both said.

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head. "Thanks, guys." I turned to my Oversoul and disengaged Naruto. The Zanbato turned back into a kunai and Naruto appeared beside me. "Thanks for the help, Naruto."

Naruto grinned and gave me a thumbs-up. "No problem."

"After we get some rest, can you tell me what chakra is?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll even help you harness it."

I smiled and turned back to my friends. "Let's go get something to eat."

We turned to head out for the exit, waving at the crowd. But then we heard the crowed gasp.

"The match is over!" yelled Oxy. I turned around to see Team Underground, revived and on their feet, charging towards us. Slate and Rocky were running beside Drake. The two were pouring their furyoku into Drake's Oversoul, which grew to be nearly twenty-feet long and looked even deadlier than ever.

"Hao said as long as we killed you, we could join his posse!!" yelled Drake as kept getting nearer. "NOW DIE!!"

I turned back around, pushed my furyoku into my arms, and shoved the twins away. They flew through the air and landed safely on the other side of the stadium. I pulled my kunai back and prepared to integrate Naruto with it when Drake's sword slashed in front of my face. I could feel the sword cut through my chest. I could barely feel the pain that followed because I blacked out before it registered. I didn't even feel myself hit the ground.

* * *

Yoh was on his feet, running to the stadium ground, intent on avenging his friend and relative. He knew he should have stepped in earlier, but he though Kasai had it handled. But when he Drake strike, the blood that erupted from the slash, and the scream of horror from Maria, he knew it was too late.

Amidmaru appeared beside him, intent on helping his shaman with whatever he had planned. The way the team attacked was just un-honorable and he had ever intention of giving Team Underground a piece of his mind. Amidamaru could see the twins about to begin their counterattack as well, intent on avenging their fallen comrade.

Yoh was halfway through on the stadium steps when Anna's shikigami's blocked his way. He tried to get around them, but they kept him blocked. He turned around to see Anna following him down the steps.

"Anna, what are you doing?!"

"He will be fine, Yoh."

"Fine?! Did you see that blood? He's dead."

Anna shook her head, a small look of regret on her face. "He'll be okay. Because as of three days ago, your cousin has become immortal."

* * *

I opened my eyes, only to sees darkness with little flickers of light. There was a ceiling above me that seemed to be made of stone. I sat up and looked around. I was lying on a floor made of stone in a dark long tunnel. Every ten feet along the wall, there was a flaming torch to light the tunnel. And there were also a few rooms with iron bars.

It looked like I was in an old-fashioned dungeon in a medieval castle.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out, my voice echoing through the tunnel.

There was no response. But the strange thing was, I could swear that there was someone in there with me. I could feel it.

I struggled to get to my feet, my aching body protesting with each movement. When I stabilized, I walked down the tunnel while using the wall as support.

The further I got into the tunnel, the bigger the presence seemed to get. It felt huge and.....evil.

A few minutes later, the tunnel opened up into a cavern. It was about as wide as a football field and I couldn't even see the ceiling. And on the opposite side of cavern was another iron cage. But each bar was the size of a Sequoia tree.

On the center bar was a giant lock with a piece of paper with the kanji for 'seal' on it.

I walked to front of the bars, curious about what this was doing here.

**"You are really weak, fleshling."**

I jumped at the voice that echoed throughout the cavern. It took me a moment to recognize the voice as the one I heard a few hours ago.

"Who are you?" I asked, gazing at the darkness in the cage.

There was a moment of silence. Then, an eye opened up right in front of the cage, only a few feet away. I fell back in horror, staring at the eye. They eye was bigger than me, filled with bloodshot veins. The pupil was slitted and red.

**"I'm a demon from the deepest circle of Hell,"** said the voice as a red aura began to seep through the cage and crawl towards me. **"But right now, as much as it disgusts me, you need my help."**

I was still frozen in fear as the aura began to surround me and crawl up my leg. The energy was the same color as my furyoku, but it didn't fell like mana at all. In fact, it felt similar to that chakra energy I felt earlier.

It stopped just below my waist. Then, I realized that my shirt was slashed down the middle, where Drake's attack landed. And on my stomach was something I had never seen before.

It looked like a sun with ray's extending from it. All drawn with black ink.

Before I could determine what it was, the red energy crawled right into the symbol. Then my world went black.

* * *

Tears blinded Maria as she charged forward with her Oversoul. When she saw Jake fall, anger and sadness filled her, overwhelming her. She charged forward with no regard to her safety along with her brother.

The two fired their attacks at Drake. He blocked each one of them with ease as the combined furyoku of his team moved forward to the twins.

**"Serpent's Bite!"**

**"Desparado Blaster!"**

Drake blocked the attack once again and kept moving forward. "What's the matter? Mad that I killed your boyfriend?"

Rage filled Maria like never before and she jumped at Drake with the intent of removing his head from his shoulders. But before she even got close, Rocky came from nowhere and punched her in the face. She fell to the ground at Drake's feet, who let go of his sword and picked Maria off the ground by her throat.

"You really want to see your boyfriend that bad, huh? Well, I'll be glad to send you to go meet him."

"Maria!" Zach yelled. He charged forward, but was knocked back thanks to Slate sneaking up on him.

"Now, let me enjoy this," Drake said as he raised his sword, ready to plunge into her chest. But before he could finish his thrust, something grabbed his arm from behind. Drake let go of Maria and swung his blade behind him, intent on destroying the person who stopped his fun, only for his blade to be caught.

Everyone in the arena gasped. There, holding the sharp side of Drake's sword in his hands, was Kasai.

**"Leave my friends alone,"** he said calmly, but with much venom. The voice he spoke with didn't even sound like him.

He grabbed Drake's Oversoul with both hands and swung him over his shoulder. Drake flew through the air and landed hard on the ground halfway across the stadium. Slate and Rocky, after seeing their leader get thrown, ran towards Kasai with their fists raised. Kasai jumped into the air and did the splits, catching the duo in the face and sent them flying to opposite ends of the stadium, where the crashed into the stands. They didn't get back up.

Drake jumped to his feet and was about to kill his opponent when he froze in his tracks with fear. He was able to finally get a good look at Kasai.

There seemed to be a red aura surrounding him, kicking up dust and causing gusts of wind to blow around him. Everyone in the stadium believed it was an overload of furyoku. However, what scared everyone the most was his new appearance. His headband had fallen off and his hair was blowing wildly. His fingernails had become longer, like animal claws. His face was in a snarl and everyone could see two, elongated canines growing from his mouth. Three marks had appeared on each cheek, like whiskers or claw marks.

But what freaked everyone out the most was that the wound on his chest had begun to smoke and seal up. There was no way a wound could heal that fast unless they had help from a demon god. In a few seconds, the wound was gone. Not even a scar remained.

Finally, his eyes had changed. Instead of blue, his iris was red and instead of a round pupil, they had become slits.

* * *

"What happened to him?" Yoh asked. "He looks like he's being possessed."

"Pretty much," Anna said sadly.

Yoh turned to his fiancé. "Exactly what burden did the Shinigami say Kasai had to take?"

"The same burden Naruto had when he was born. Just hours after his birth, Naruto had a demon sealed inside him to save his village from destruction."

"A demon?" Yoh's eyes widened. "You mean the demon the once resided in Naruto is now in Kasai?"

"Yes. Kasai has become a _Jinchuriki_, which means 'power of human sacrifice'. Inside his body resides a demon called a _Biju_: a tailed beast. And Kasia has the strongest _biju_ inside him that the world has ever seen."

"Kyuubi no Youki. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

* * *

I could feel the power flowing through me. Like a wave a hot, energy. All of my muscles had stretched to their limits and beyond. I could feel the demon's chakra flow through my body and surround me, like a warm blanket.

The power was unbelievable.

I became aware of my surroundings like never before. I could feel the shifts of pressure in the air. I could hear the slightest footstep and even Drake's rapid heartbeat. I could smell every individual in the stadium, recognizing Zach and Maria's scents as the cautiously approached me from behind. I actually see the beads of sweat moving down every shaman's nervous face as they tried to figure out what I was.

To be honest, I didn't know myself. I looked at my claws, seeing the long nails as they grew. Somehow, I knew they were strong, almost indestructible. That they could shred through steel and even bone. I could feel the grooves in my cheeks, and how these new 'whiskers' were what gave me my incredible senses.

"What the hell are you?!?!" Drake screamed at me. I could hear his heartbeat speed up, smell his sweat, and see the fear. He was afraid of me.

And I had never felt so alive to feel his fear.

I chuckled and swung my head around my neck, feeling the cracks. I rolled my shoulders a few times, hearing the joints pop. Then, I flexed my hands and got into a fighting position that Kumo taught me.

**"I'm your worst nightmare."**

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I spent days trying to find the perfect way to coordinate this fight. If anybody has any questions, comments, or suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them.

And I'm sorry for the cliffhanger.


	12. Kyuubi

1Sorry for the wait everyone. I'm preparing for the Spring semester and working on my newest story, A Sale on Ramen. I hope you're not disappointed.

NOTICE!: I'm changing the point of the story. In the previous chapter, I kept bouncing back and forth between characters and probably confused a lot of people. So now, I'll be referring to the main character as 'Kasai' instead of 'I'.

Enjoy.

* * *

Kasai flexed his muscles as he felt the new energy called chakra flow through his body. When he felt it earlier, during his match with Drake, the chakra had felt like it was coming from his body. Like it was his own energy. It was uncomfortable at first, with Naruto telling him his chakra gates had been opened, but it felt familiar.

However, this new chakra flowing through his body felt evil. There was no doubt in his mind that this energy was tainted and malicious. Kasai knew it was coming from whatever that creature was behind the bars in that dungeon.

But even though Kasai knew this was chakra was evil, he couldn't care less. He never felt power like this for and that blocked out all of sense of reason. All that mattered was destroying the man who tried to kill him and his friends.

Kasai rolled his shoulders back and got into a fighting stance that Kumo taught him.

A second later, Drake, either in rage out of Kasai did to his teammates or in blind fear, charged forward with his original Oversoul, roaring. Kasai tensed and prepared for his assault.

Just like earlier, time seemed to slow down around him. Except now, Drake seemed to move like he was traveling on the moon instead of just walking.

Kasai charged forward and kicked Drake's sword away from it's forward slash and threw an uppercut into his stomach. Drake's eyes widened in pain and surprise as he was lifted slightly off of the ground. He never landed since Kasai spun on his heel and delivered a roundhouse kick to his chest. Drake flew back from the force and hit the ground hard. He traveled nearly halfway across the stadium, creating a divot into the ground. Kasai got back into his stance and waited for his opponent to get up.

"Jake?" a shaky voice said behind him. Kasai turned around to see his teammates standing behind him. They were nursing their injuries with what they had, but were gazing at him with wonder, confusion, and fear.

"Are you ok?" asked Maria. Her eyes said that she was truly concerned for him, while her legs refused to take another step towards him. Kasai felt hurt by their hesitation to approach him. Didn't they know he would never hurt them?

**"I'm just fine, Maria,"** Kasai assured her, giving her a grin. Instead of returning it, Maria and Zach shivered slightly and stepped back. It took moment to realize he probably scared them with his newly developed canines. Kasai just shook his head and turned back to his opponent.

Drake slowly got up, holding his stomach and blood dripping from his mouth. His legs shook, as if he had trouble staying on his feet. His Oversoul had begun to flicker and shrink. However, he raised his sword and began to approach Kasai once again.

Kasai sighed and crossed his arms. **"Drake, why do you keep fighting? I got you on the ropes and plenty of power to spare. If you keep this up, something bad's going to happen."**

Drake spat blood on the ground. "Because Hao promised me a place in his shaman world. Can't you see all of the evil around you when your in the human world? Corruption, pollution, starvation, and technology. All of these are the evils of the human race and it's only getting worse. Hao's the solution to stopping it and bringing the world to peace. With him as shaman king, the world will revert back to its once peaceful state, before humans ruined it."

**"By killing other competitors?"** asked Kasai. "Do**n't you see, Hao's trying to destroy everyone who isn't a shaman. He's killing families, ghosts, and anyone who stands in his way by burning it to ashes. He's not trying to save the world, he's going to destroy it."**

"SHUT UP!! **DARK ECHO!!**" yelled Drake as he powered up his Oversoul and unleashed his attack.

With the attack wave screaming towards him, Kasai tensed his muscles and charged forward. He met the attack head on, meeting only a little resistance before breaking the wave and sprinting towards his opponent. Drake barely had time to register what happened before Kasai's foot sunk into his stomach and sending him to the wall.

Kasai power his furyoku and chakra and sprinted to Drake. He outraced him easily and was soon waiting for him to meet his tornado kick, sending him rocketing back to the other end of the stadium. Once again, he powered up and outraced him.

The shaman ninja kept this repetition of attacks, sending his opponent to every corner of the stadium. Spectators believed they were watching some bad version of a pinball game.

Kasai met Drake's flight one more time before giving him a vicious uppercut that sent the shaman skyrocketing into the air. Kasai felt Drake's jaw shatter with the punch as he gazed upwards and waited for him to follow, which he did a few seconds later. Drake landed with a loud thump, his body actually bouncing twice before settling.

The man's body was nearly broken in half. Both his arms were shattered, his left leg broken, and his chest was black and purple from all of the broken ribs he sustained. His nose was flattened and both eyes were swollen shut. Blood gurgled from his broken mouth.

Kasai walked to him, picked the fallen shaman by the collar of his shirt, and held him at eye level. Rage was boiling through him like lava. The power radiating off him was kicking up wind like a storm and his body was surrounded with his red furyoku. Or was it his chakra?

**"You tried to kill me, you tried to kill my friends, and you've sworn your allegiance to Hao,"** growled Kasai. He pulled a spare kunai from his pocket and put it the man's throat. **"For that, you die."**

"Kasai! Stop!" called a voice in the air. Kasai turned to see Naruto materialize next to him. "This isn't you, Kasai. When we integrated, I saw your heart. It was filled with kindness and courage. Right now, your being influenced by the demon that lives inside you. Its filling you with power and rage, making you blind to your true emotions. I know what that power feels like, but it's not worth it to lose your humanity." Nartuo walked up and put a hand on Kasai's shoulder. "Let it go. He can't hurt you or your friends anymore."

For a moment, Kasai seriously though about running the knife through Naruto's body, not caring that he was already dead. Then, with each breath he took, he began to realize what he was doing. He was holding a knife to a man's neck, ready to kill him in cold blood. He dropped the kunai as his hand began to shake, horrified at what he was about to do. He stumbled backwards, gazing at his hands, which were coated with Drake's blood. He finally tripped over a rock and fell on his butt, scared.

"What.....What have I done?" shivered Kasai. The more he came to his senses, the more his power receded.

"You were blinded by power and rage," said Naruto. "But luckily, you didn't lose yourself to it."

Kasai broke his gaze away from his hands and looked around. Zach and Maria were approaching him again with caution. Oxy was watching with worry and suspicion. Pokey and Sharpey were hovering in the air above him, waiting to be called on if needed.

Kasai then turned and looked at everyone in the stadium. Each shaman gazed at him with looks of fear, disgust, worry and confusion. He caught Yoh and Anna's gaze, who were looking at him with sadness.

The ninja then turned to his ghost. "Let's get out of here."

Naruto nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

Kasai slowly got to his feet. He stood up when a sudden pain erupted in his stomach, causing to fall to his knees.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto, at Kasai's side instantly.

"I...don't....know!" groaned Kasai. "It...feels...like....clawing."

Naruto's eyes widened. "No..."

_**You're weak. Let's show them our power.**_

A red aura erupted from Kasai's body again. But this time, it was a lot stronger.

_This isn't my furyoku...._

The aura grew and grew. In seconds, a hand emerged from the red cloud, a hand that was more like a claw. It whipped through the air before reaching for Drake's body and gripping it. The hand was large enough that it covered Drake's body completely.

A second later, Drake's body was on fire from the aura. Through a broken jaw, Drake screamed in pain before his body exploded into a cloud of ash before it vanished into the winds. Everybody gasped in horror at what just happened.

Meanwhile, the aura kept growing and growing.

"I can't control it!" Kasai quickly screamed.

"Hurry! We need to merge now! I can help you control it!" yelled Naruto.

Kasai reached towards Naruto, who quickly changed into his hitodama form.

"Integrate!" yelled Kasai as he pushed Naruto into the seal.

Immediately, there was a growing power withing him that swelled up quickly before it seemed to explode from his body. The energy quickly running through his body made him roar with pain. A roar that was not his voice, but more animalistic.

* * *

As Yoh watched his cousin merge with his ghost, he was once again knocked to his seat by a shockwave of energy. It wasn't just him, everyone was knocked off their feet by a wave of energy nobody recognized.

Yoh heard a roar of an animal as he was pinned to his seat. It wasn't any animal he recognized, but it made his insides liquefy with fear. That roar wasn't like anything he ever heard. When he compared it to Hao's Spirit of Fire, it was like comparing a kitten's meow with a tiger's roar.

When Yoh felt it was okay to open his eyes, he wished he hadn't. It was like a red, mushroom cloud was in the middle the stadium. The red energy was a giant pillar of aura and light that was so high it reached the clouds. It was so bright, he couldn't even see the blue sky within a several mile radius.

Kasai was in the middle of it. But Yoh noticed there was something else there as well. Slowly, a giant figure began to emerge in the pillar, forming out of whatever that energy was. It was as tall as Hao's Spirit of Fire, but stood on four paws. It's body was canine, maybe a wolf or fox. He couldn't see a recognizable head, but this creature was gazing at the crowd will yellow, glowing eyes.

But was scared Yoh the most was it's tails. There were nine of them and each one was as long as a football field. They weren't real, only shaped by aura, but every time a tail moved, it kicked up wind like a tornado.

The creature gazed at the crowd, causing several spectators to run in fear. It was faint, but Yoh could see the creature grin with satisfaction.

It gave one final roar before it's energy was sucked back into Kasai.

* * *

Kasai's mind was in a flurry of images, emotions and pain. When Naruto merged with his soul, he saw his memories. Ninjas in battle, using weapons and themselves to fight. And somehow, they were able to use the elements themselves to fight. Some were even using what looked giant animals, wearing clothes and using weapons as well.

Then, Kasai saw young, blonde-headed kid, crying in the dark. All around him, he could see outlines of people, who were doing nothing to comfort the boy. Instead, he heard their whispers.

Kasai grew angry at their words. They were berating the boy when he had no one to stand up for him. He walked to the crying boy, but before he could, the scene vanished. Then, as he were watching several Tv's, he saw the boy's life.

He saw him eating ramen with a ninja with a scar across his nose....

......he saw a boy sitting on a swing underneath a tree watching a group of kids....

......meeting a guy with gray, spiky hair and a headband covering one eye....

......training with a boy and girl who looked strangely familiar.....

Then, he was back in front of the cage with the redwood-sized bars. Naruto was there as well. He was pressing his hands against the bar with 'seal' tag and pushing what looked like his chakra into it.

"We're out of danger now," Naruto sighed as he let go.

Suddenly, two read eyes appeared out of the darkness behind the cage. Then a mouth filled with teeth formed an evil smile.

**"Now that you had a taste of my power, do you think you'll be able to stand up to me now,**" said the creature.

"Kyuubi. It's been a while," growled Naruto.

The eyes turned to the blond. **"Well, well, it's nice to see you again, brat. Tell me, did you kill your best friend yet?"**

Naruto frowned, but then yelled, "It's none of your business!"

Kyuubi chuckled. **"So, you haven't fully regained your memories yet. Well, they'll come to you eventually. After I'm freed."**

"You will never get out of here," Kasia said. "You're going to remain here until the Shaman tournament is over. Then its back to the Shinigami.

This made the Kyuubi laugh. **"You? You needed that brat to help you control me, gaki. What's going to happen when Hao destroys him like your last guardian ghost?"**

Kasai growled and charged for the bars. But before he could reach them, he was grabbed by Naruto.

"Calm down, Kasai. He can't hurt you, only annoy."

"But he took control of me earlier?"

"Because you let him. You were blinded by with power by his chakra and called forth more to destroy your opponent. Only by keeping control of your emotions can you keep the furball at bay."

Kyuubi growled at the remark and slammed his paw against the bars. "**Brat."**

Naruto took Kasai by his shoulder and led him away from the cage.

* * *

Kasai opened his eyes, back into the real world. Naruto floated from his seal and reformed at his side. Kasai looked up at him.

"You have some explaining to do."

Naruto sadly nodded. "I know. With my new memories, I'll tell you all I can. Then, we can begin your training."

"Training?"

Naruto nodded. "You're a great fighter and warrior, Kasai, but you could be greater. When we integrated, my spirit somehow unlocked your chakra gates. Now based on your body's reaction, you had no idea what chakra is, nor does anyone else. So when the Shinigami infused the Kyuubi with you, he either must have given you a chakra network or awakened your dormant one."

Kasai sighed and rubbed his head. "Fine. Let's discuss this back at my teammates hotel."

Naruto nodded and Kasai got back on his feet. Gazing around the arena, he realized no time past while he was inside wherever Kyuubi was. People were still running from their seats while a few were looking on with terror. Kasai caught Yoh's eye, who was looking on with sadness and fear. Anna was the same while their friends were trying not to run away like everyone else.

Kasai turned around looked at his teammates, who were standing beside Oxy. Their guardian ghosts were standing behind them. All seven of them were looking him with worry, confusion, and fear. However, they were still bleeding and Kasai ran to the when Maria collapsed, holding onto her arm.

"Are you ok?" asked Kasai as he grabbed her arms. He was startled when she slightly pulled away, but then leaned forward again.

"I think so," Maria winced.

Kasai slowly pulled Maria's hand from her wound and nearly gasped in shock. There was a sword-related wound on her arm. It was nearly sliced in half. Blood was pouring from the wound, tendons and muscle were cleanly cut in half, and her bone was clearly noticeable.

"Maria, you're seriously injured. If you don't get help now, you'll most likely die," Kasai replied.

"There is a hospital we could take her to, but it's on the other side of the village," Oxy explained.

"Would she make it?" asked Zach.

"No," said Naruto, who appeared in his hitodama form. "She'll bleed out before she gets there. There is only one way."

"What?" asked Kasai.

Naruto didn't speak, but flew into Kasai's seal. He once again felt no resistance when Naruto merged with his soul. He waited for Naruto's memories to flood his mind, but instead only one thing came to his head. He didn't know what it was, but reacted on instinct. It was like Naruto was guiding him through the process.

Kasai hovered his hand only an inch away from the wound. He took a deep breath and called forth his power. Not the cool power of his furyoku, but the warm feeling of his chakra. He felt it flow to his hand, which began to glow green instead of the blue or red he saw earlier.

Maria winced, but didn't move. Kasai began to follow the instincts Naruto gave him. Focus on healing the bone first. It may have been just a scratch, but it was the first thing to heal. He focused on reproducing the calcium and marrow in the bone to fuse the mark. When it was gone, he focused on reattaching the tendons back to the bone. Then, focused on melding the arteries and veins back together along with nerves.

The burning feeling from earlier returned to his hand, forcing him to pull away and take a couple of deep breaths. He saw that Maria's wound wasn't bleeding as badly as before, but was still open. Then Kasai felt a tug at his stomach and Naruto popped out.

"She's out of danger now," said Naruto. "She'll be ok. You can take her to the hospital."

Zach nodded and immediately picked her up. He wasted no time carrying her away from the group or saying anything at all. Their guardian ghosts followed.

"How much trouble am I in?" asked Kasai.

"The Shaman Council won't do anything. They know about the burden you carry and that you were influenced by the bijuu inside of you," said Oxy.

"That's good," breathed Kasai.

"But everyone else won't be as convincing," finished Oxy.

Kasai looked at the stands. Everyone who braved the battle was now leaving. They were all giving him looks of caution and fear. In fact, only Yoh and Anna looked like that actually worried about him in a concerned way.

"Well, I can't please everybody."

"Good luck on your victory, Kasai," said Oxy. He and his guardian ghosts then disappeared.

Kasai just shook his sadly and walked out of the stadium, back to his room. Naruto followed behind.

* * *

Opacha was shivering with fear. He had never in all his life felt anything so frightening as what he just witnessed. The power from whatever that being was scared him more than his worst nightmare.

He always thought his master was the most powerful thing on Earth. He had witnessed it several times and nothing stood in his way. It was one of the things Opacha admired about Hao. True, he knew his master had his dark tendencies, but they were for a good cause.

But this....monster....was completely evil. Opacha felt like he was suffocating when that boy's energy was being released. And there was so much of the energy. What scared the young child even more was that it was a power he didn't recognize. He turned to Hao

"Master Hao? What just...." Opacha trailed off. His fear grew when he saw Hao's reaction. It was one he never seen before.

Hao was gazing at Kasai with a look of indifference on his face. He tried to seem cool about what just happened, but Opacha saw his master struggling to keep calm.

What scared Opacha the most was he saw a few beads of sweat run down Hao's face.

* * *

Sorry this chapter is shorter than my others. I just had to update or I was going to go crazy.


	13. An Please don't kill me

I'm afraid that my laptop has crashed and uploading my stories will be a lot slower since I'm using the school's computers. Also, I'm graduating from college in May, but I also have to take summer classes to receive my diploma. So I won't have much free time.

To be honest, I don't have an accurate idea of when my next upload will be. It might take a few months.


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